Jan 15, 2018 | GeoffRead | 502 views
KnightHawks Earn 3 of Possible 4 Points on January 6-7 Weekend
The KnightHawks played games on back to back days on January 6 and 7, and passed the test with shining colours, winning a tightly played first match 1-0 against Oakridge on the Saturday, and earning a tie in an equally competitive 2-2 game Sunday with the Bandits.
In the first game, the KnightHawks dominated play, giving up only a handful of shots. The defence of Brandon Miles, Anderson Watt, Aiden Hayes, and Gregory Nicolis controlled the boards and kept Oakridge hemmed in their end. Hayes also created some nice chances off the rush and all four defenceman got some shots on net from the point.
In goal, Kayden Keating wasn't busy but when called upon he came through, particularly on a partial breakaway late in the game when it seemed like the match could end up being one of those games where one team dominates but the other steals a point because of strong goaltending and a timely score. Keating prevented that from happening and earned the shutout.
The goal came off a nice play out of the corner as Zoe Read outworked the defenceman and fed James Nielsen a pass out front. Nielsen made no mistake and buried it behind the Oakridge goaltender.
That was the only offence the KnightHawks were able to produce, but the strong forechecking effort of the entire forward group was key to the win. Sam Schafer had a particularly strong game crashing and banging along the boards, and Kaelen Walsh also stood out for his hard work. On the whole then, it was a great team game and a hard-earned 2 points.
In the weekend's second match up the script was much the same. The game was more even, but on the whole the KnightHawks carried the play and put together a strong two-way effort where they were hard in on the forecheck and playing a sound structural game defensively. The offence came from a nice wrist-shot up high off the stick of Owen Askew who took a feed from Nielsen and rifled it to the short side, and Nielsen, whose goal was timely, coming with 3 and a half minutes to go in the third to tie the game up.
The Bandits got some good chances though and managed to get two by Walsh, who played goal. The Bandits created quite a few more chances than Oakridge had done the day before, and Walsh was called upon to make several good saves to keep his team in the game.
Another noteworthy moment came at in the dying minutes of the second period, when Greg the Impaler, up to his old tricks, hacked down a Bandits' forward like he was clearing brush with a machete. Nicolis served his two minutes seething with pent-up ferocity. When asked after the game about the infraction he offered, "You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes, by yourself, you know and you feel shame, you know. And then you get free." Indeed.
Connor Devlin played especially well in this game, causing several turnovers with his hard work, and Jack Peterkin and Troy Price did likewise, outhustling Bandits to pucks and generating chances out front. As per usual, Peterkin had several good chances but on this afternoon he couldn't get one to go in for him. Keating also looked quick cruising up and down the wing.
So on the whole the weekend was a success, as the KnightHawks took 3 of a possible 4 points and kept themselves in good shape to qualify for the upper bracket once the countdown to the playoffs begins.
Go KnightHawks go!