Jan 21, 2019 | GeoffRead | 562 views
Hawks Have Excellent Showing in Weekend Tournament
The West London Hawks Major Atom A4 squad had an excellent weekend in Oakville, winning four straight to make it to the final in the Frank Sabatino Memorial Tournament, before losing 3-2 to a strong team from Wainfleet. While the weekend experience was an overwhelmingly positive one, after their second finals loss this season, the Hawks' fans were left to wonder whether this team is destined to always be a bridesmaid and never the bride.
The Hawks largely romped through the round robin, flattening a team from Port Credit 10-0 Friday night, hammering an outfit from Oakville 6-1 early Saturday morning, and cruising to a solid 4-0 win over a group from Belmont Saturday afternoon. The third of these victories came with a price as the Hawks and the Belmont team were both at the same hotel and relations got noticeably frostier after the Hawks' decisive victory.
In the semifinal, played at 8 am Sunday morning, the Hawks faced a battle hardened team from Sudbury, the Fountain Tire Mighty Pucks. The Hawks kept up the style that has earned them some success this season, applying relentless pressure on the Pucks' defence, which proved vulnerable to turnovers and being beaten wide. Also key to the weekend's victories was a solid breakout, and the first goal in the contest was emblematic of that as Kaelan Walsh chipped the puck up the middle to Zoe Read who broke out of the zone and then swung wide out to the left side as she crossed the blueline and feathered a pass to Troy Price. Price broke in on the goalie and fired one high on the far side to put the Hawks up 1-0.
By the end of the first the Hawks were leading 3-1 on goals by Nathan Mason, who had an outstanding tournament, and Connor Devlin, who played his best game of the weekend in this match eventually putting up two goals and an assist. Devlin added his second goal in the middle frame and the Hawks took a commanding 4-1 lead into the third.
Unfortunately, however, some bad habits that had not been factors in the round robin suddenly reappeared in the Hawks' game and the team was guilty of letting the Mighty Pucks back into the match. First, one defenceman came out of a scrum in the corner in the Hawks' zone with the puck and promptly passed it into the slot where a Mighty Puck intercepted it and wired it past a helpless Kayden Keating. This gave the Mighty Pucks life. Off the ensuing face-off at centre ice, the Hawks won the draw cleanly back to another defenceman who held it too long, gave it away, and the Mighty Puck went in all alone on the breakaway and scored.
And just like that, thanks to two bad gaffes, the Mighty Pucks were back in it.
But Coach Geoff Read showing the kind of acumen that comes with experience, called a timeout and settled his troops. They don't call him the Scotty Bowman of House League hockey for nothing. Thereafter, the Hawks were much steadier and when Mason scored off a nice rush by Price it looked like the Hawks might be home-free. Not so soon, however, as a Mighty Puck danced around a third defender who was caught standing still on the rush and scored with just over a minute left in the game to make it 5-4. The Hawks then put their shut down defencemen Aiden Hayes and Brandon Miles on the ice and the pair, along with a defensively minded forward group, brought the victory home.
It was a great game, even if it did give the coaching staff ulcers. Indeed, Coach Dwayne Price seemed to be suffering from intestinal difficulties throughout the weekend and his troops on defence bore the brunt of his troubles at their end of the bench.
So it was off to the final early Sunday afternoon against Wainfleet. The Wainfleet team was solid and played good defence but the Hawks went up 2-0 on two nice goals by Mason off nice passes by Devlin and Walsh on the first goal and Price and Owen Askew on the second. But Wainfleet was a bit of a one-man show and #9 on their team broke loose to put up a goal just over two minutes in.
Thus, the two teams entered the third period with the Hawks up 2-1. Unfortunately, however, the Hawks' special teams let them down in this one. First, Hayes took a hooking penalty and #9 was able to break loose for a quick goal. Then Wainfleet took a penalty and not only did the Hawks' power play remind viewers of a comedy of errors, but #9 was allowed a clear breakaway on which he again scored.
The Hawks did their best to storm back but Wainfleet played good defence and the Hawks just missed on their best chance with about two minutes to go. Keating came out of the net with just over a minute left and the Hawks put some pressure on the opposition but ultimately could not score.
Still, it was a weekend of highlights for each and every Hawk.
Mason led the way offensively with 10 goals and 3 assists. He made several memorable plays, including scoring a goal where he used Read as a decoy and deked right before roofing the puck over the goalie's shoulder on the short side. Mason also took part in the skills competition, being the Hawks' entry in the breakaway contest - a contest which he won with a combination of deadly shooting and sweet dekes to the forehand. Unfortunately, Mason, showing a ruthless streak, also knocked Hawks' goalie Keating out of the competition with a top corner snipe after Keating had made it to the final four among the goalies!
Price also had an outstanding weekend offensively putting up 7 goals and 4 assists. Price distinguished himself with his excellent work on both the backcheck and forecheck and used his speed up the wing to great effect. As a result of his heroics, Price was named a co-MVP of the tournament by the coaches along with Mason. Price was also the Hawks' competitor in the fastest skater contest where he acquitted himself well.
James Nielsen also had a very strong tournament and like Mason and Price, showed his work ethic by coming back as hard as he pressed for goals. Nielsen racked up 4 goals and 3 assists and was a tower of strength up the middle. For his efforts he was named co-player of the game in the final match.
Maria Fernanda Pimentel continues to amaze her coaches. She is one of the Hawks' most tenacious players and you would never know watching her play that it was her first ever season of hockey. Pimentel put up 4 assists in the tournament and had a memorable shift in the final where she hounded a defenceman into making a turnover that nearly led to a goal.
Gregory Nicolis is the strong silent type. He's not flashy or showy - he just quietly goes about his business. And that was true in this tournament as well. Nicolis excels at digging the puck out along the boards and at keeping it simple by throwing it up to a winger. He has also noticeably improved his ability to read the play at the blueline and kept the puck in repeatedly over the weekend, giving the Hawks extra chances to score. On such a play he got an assist in the round robin.
Anderson Watt had a fantastic tournament, moving the puck effectively and cutting off repeated rushes by the opposition. Watt has become the kind of defenceman his coaches can count on to always make the smart play - a penchant for which he was rewarded with player of the game honours in the 4-0 round robin victory over Belmont. He too picked up an assist on the weekend.
Askew reminds this reporter of Mike Bossy - he's always there, lurking in the weeds, looking for a goal. Offensively, he had a solid weekend, putting up two goals and three asissts, with both goals coming in the 10-0 win as he preyed upon the vulnerable Port Credit team. He was also forechecking hard all weekend and contributing with a good two-way effort.
Andre Prato-Duran was the player of the game in the first match, and played some great hockey, particularly in the round robin. He is an elite player at holding the puck in at the blueline and his tenacity in that regard created many chances for the Hawks in the tournament. He also flashed some dance moves on the ice, which despite their best efforts the coaches couldn't help but smile at.
Walsh is one of the Hawks' most consistent players and was true to form in the tournament. He hustles on each and every shift and isn't afraid to mix it up with the more physical teams. He was rewarded with a goal as well in the third game and added 3 assists the rest of the way. For his workmanlike attitude and goal, Walsh took home player of the game honours in game #3.
Devlin often plays wing with Walsh on the "St. George" line, and he shone in semifinal as mentioned with 2 goals and an assist: he was named the player of the game. Devlin has learned to use his speed to take the puck wide and has also developed into a good little passer, making one memorable pass to Mason for a goal (I think in the third game). His weekend totals of 2 goals and 3 assists don't quite do his game justice - he was a force out there on many shifts.
Miles is the Hawks' Shea Weber. He just plays a very solid game out there at both ends. He's quick. He reads the play well. He can shoot. And like Walsh, he's not afraid of a little physicality. He absolutely creamed a poor kid from Belmont who had the misfortune of being caught in the crosshairs after another Belmont player had crosschecked Miles. Miles' comment when he came to the bench? "I got the wrong guy." But his edginess aside, Miles is likely the Hawks' most dependable blueliner - he rarely loses a battle for the puck.
Flashier than Miles but equally effective is Aiden Hayes, who scored a nice goal in one of the round robin games on a shot from the point. Hayes is a good passer and great skater. He's also smart defensively and like Miles tends to win more battles than he loses. Hayes' weekend of excellent play was punctuated with a victory in the defensive agility skating contest in the skils competition. Hayes is so smooth he made two mistakes in the 1 on 1 final of the competiton and yet still recovered to win by a stride or two.
Paul "Remington" Steele plays his best game when he keeps it simple, and he was successful at doing that for much of the weekend in Oakville. When Steele is winning his share of the battles along the boards for the puck and backing up against the rush he shows an ability to read the play that might surprise the casual observer. Steele made his most memorable contribution to the team's success in the semifinal when he swatted away a puck that was sitting dangerously in front of a gaping net.
Read is like Walsh and Pimentel - you know what she's going to give you every night. She works hard and is the Hawks' best player in the corners. This is both because she uses her low centre of gravity to hold off bigger defenders and outwork them to come up with the puck, and because she has the smarts to come out of those battle with her head up looking to make a tape to tape pass, a skill that saw her put 5 assists on the board over the weekend. For her efforts, Read earned co-player of the game honours in the final alongside longtime friend and teammate Nielsen.
Finally, last but certainly not least, was Keating between the pipes. He had a stellar weekend posting 2 shutouts and lowering his goals against average to 2.36. Keating nearly always has his body in the position and is remarkably nimble with his legs. He made some truly outstanding saves, particularly in the semifinal when there were several close calls and truthfully, the Hawks got outplayed in the third and probably would have lost the game but for his heroics. He also made it through the breakaway competition with a spotless record: stopping all 5 shooters he faced. Sadly, as mentioned, Mason then knocked him out in the elmination round. But Keating, as is his habit, didn't hold a grudge and kept a smile on his face throughout.
But the real heroes on the weekend were of course the parents. Vann Robson-Hayes booked the hotels and organized everything perfectly so everyone could enjoy themselves, despite having to get up for two 8 am games. Brett and Ruth Mason showed their genius by bringing beer pong, and the parental MVP was, as per usual, Tina Nicolis with her zesty exuberance.
In sum, it was a memorable weekend and a great team-building excercise for all involved. Sooner or later these kids will make it to the altar!
Go Hawks go!