Nov 12, 2017 | GeoffRead | 137 views
Hats Rain Down On Worby as Hawks Win 4-3
Player of the game Owen Worby netted a hat-trick as the Hawks squeaked out a 4-3 victory over a strong North London A6 team. Worby was stick-handling and shooting with authority all game and potted his first at the beginning of the second and added two more in the third to lead the Hawks to their fourth straight win.
Worby's second goal was controversial, as he deposited a Hodgins rebound into the back of the net just as Zach Read piled into the goalie. The North London bench protested vociferously but to no avail, as the referee ruled that Worby had scored before Read made contact with the netminder. Worby played right wing to Matt Hodgins' centre and Read's left wing, and the line clicked offensively all night, hemming North in their end repeatedly. Hodgins and Worby carried the puck through the neutral zone well and they, as well as Read, forechecked hard and set up in triangle formation working the puck to the front of the net.
But the offensive play of the game actually came from the other unit of Callum Knapp between Matt DiCicco at left-wing and Nathan Senese at right. On the shift after Worby got his first goal, Knapp drew the puck back to DiCicco at the top of the face-off circle off the draw and DiCicco smartly slid it back to the centreman who lifted a nice shot in over the pad of the North London goaltender.
Goaltender Brendan Walsh also played well, stopping the first shot and directing the rebounds into the corners (most of the time). Walsh also used his poke-check effectively to thwart two North London breakaways giving his teammates a lift.
Walsh was helped out by the defensive trio of Pyper Baker, Jacob Grover, and Noah Weber. Baker stood her ground against some of the larger North forwards who tried to use their size and strength to overpower her. Baker planted her feet and would not be moved, winning, as usual, more of the one on one battles than she lost. Grover likewise played a smart and effective game, taking good angles, out-muscling the North forwards, and repeatedly holding the puck in at the blue line to keep the pressure on the North London defence. Weber, for his part, continued to use his speed well to keep North's rushes to the outside and stepped into a couple of good shots from the point.
On the whole, it was a great team game, signalling that the current four-game win streak is built on a sound foundation of good positional play and hard work.
Go Hawks go!