Dec 17, 2018 | GeoffRead | 251 views
Hawks Romp Through Tournament but Lose in Final
The good news is that the Hawks definitively shook off whatever was ailing them the previous weekend at this weekend's Mark Woodley Memorial Tournament in South Kent; the bad news is that after a dominating tournament the Hawks fell 3-1, including an empty net goal against, in the final to a strong team from Port Stanley. Still: the positives vastly outweighed the negatives as the Hawks' offence came alive and their defence was stifling, including in the final.
The Hawks played two round robin games and a quarterfinal game on Friday and Saturday. They absolutely dominated the opposition defeating two teams from South Kent and another from Wheatley by a combined score of 25-2. Everything was rolling the Hawks' way as all three lines were clicking, the defence was on its game, and, when called upon, goalie Kayden Keating was sharp, picking up a shutout in game #2.
Everyone on the roster had a good tournament, although defender Anderson Watt missed the first three games with the flu. Tournament MVP Nathan Mason shone brightly playing between Zoe Read and Maria Fernanda Pimentel, as their line gave other teams' defence fits on the forecheck and cycle. Read and Pimentel excel at putting pressure on the defencemen and Mason's hockey smarts mean that when defenders are rushed he is there nine times out of ten to pick off their panicked pass or clearing attempt. The result was a spectacular offensive output for Mason and his linemates. Not only did Mason post two hat-tricks for the weekend but Read moved into the team lead in assists. Most importantly: in game #3 Pimentel scored her first career goal on a goal-mouth cross-crease feed from Read and the team erupted in jubilation.
The other lines were equally good. James Nielsen centred Owen Askew and a rotating cast at left wing of defenders Gregory Nicolis, Paul Steele, and Andre Prato-Duran. The instability on his left side didn't slow Nielsen down, as he too collected a hat-trick and Askew scored two key goals. Again - very excitingly in game #3 Nicolis got his first goal of the season on a play similar to the one on which Pimentel converted. Steele also narrowly missed collecting his first career goal when he broke in alone on the goalie and slid a clever shot just wide of the post.
The line of Kaelen Walsh centring Troy Price and Connor Devlin also shone, and had many memorable shifts dominating play in the offensive zone. Walsh, in particular, has learned to use his pointmen to advantage, and Price continues to be the offensive engine that drives the line with his outside speed and grit. Devlin and Walsh are both becoming good passers who complement the trigger man Price's shooting skills. Devlin is especially adroit at passing the puck out front from the corners. This line too put up impressive offensive numbers with Price and Devlin both posting multi-goal games and Price collecting the only marker in the final.
On defence, everyone had a stellar tournament and got in on the action. Brandon Miles had an outstanding weekend and was absolutely dominating defending against the rush. Indeed, the fact he came down with a stomach flu in the midst of the final might have cost the Hawks the tournament. Paul Steele, after a rough weekend a week ago, showed more of the tenacity we saw at the beginning of the season and battled hard along the boards keeping his game simple. He was rewarded with an assist on the goal in the final. Andre Prato-Duran had a great weekend as well, earning 3-4 assists with some heads-up passing. He was good on D; he was good at forward. Gregory Nicolis did a good job defending on the rush as well, breaking up several odd-man chances and learning the lessons imparted by the coaching staff at last week's practice about the need to back up with speed when defending the rush. Anderson Watt only got into the one game, but played solidly and showed his sense of timing did not desert him while he was sick as he read the play well and cut off several breakout attempts by Port Stanley to keep the pressure on in the offensive zone. Finally, Aiden Hayes was a tower of strength out there breaking up rushes, headmanning the puck, and continuing to show a knack for getting the puck through traffic and on net: a skill that was rewarded with a goal in the first game.
The final was a nail-biter. The Hawks did not dominate as they had in the first three games but they did hold an advantage in the play. Unfortunately, a combination of good defending by Port Stanley and excellent goaltending held the Hawks' offence at bay with several players having excellent chances to score. Perhaps the best opportunity came when Mason broke up the right side of the ice and Read charged hard to the net. Mason feathered a beautiful pass across and Read got good wood on it, but the goalie went post to post like was Carey Price and just got his toe on Read's shot. He also stymied Mason and Nielsen on breakaways and turned aside several good chances from others including Walsh, Askew, Devlin and Pimentel. Alas, only one Hawk solved the the goalie in this one, and that was Price who took a feed from Steele off the boards in his own end and went end to end on a beautiful rush before firing one in high on the far side.
So with 1:30 to go the Hawks pulled Keating, who'd made several top-drawer saves on high shots in particular in this game. Mason went over the boards to join Nielsen's line on the ice. But before he could even get engaged in the play a Port Stanley forward corralled the puck and fired from his own end. The puck went all the way down the ice and into the Hawks' net. It was a heart-breaking end to a great tournament. But the state of the Hawks' game bodes well for the rest of the season.
Go Hawks go!