Mar 06, 2019 | GeoffRead | 594 views
Strong Nationals Team Defeats Hawks in Frigid Carling Arena
Sometimes the effort is there but the results aren't. That is what happens when you run into a very good team as the West London Hawks Major Atom #A4 did Monday night at Carling Arena. Perhaps it was the 5-2 score that made it seem this way but in addition to suffering a loss, the Hawks also had to suffer the freezing cold as it seemed to be roughly -60 degrees Celsius inside the rink.
The Hawks tried their best but they were ultimately undone by a few factors. First, the team was missing Troy Price who provides some offensive punch and depth. In his absence the Hawks had difficulty generating many chances. Second, the Nationals are simply a very strong team with no weak links up front, some very strong skaters and stickhandlers on the back end, and a rock solid goalie between the pipes. Even with Price this would have been a tough nut for the Hawks to crack. Third, the Hawks did have some defensive breakdowns committed as a team by both the forwards and the defence. Most obviously, the Hawks struggled to break out of their zone at times and got hemmed in. Additionally, there were a handful of occasions when coverage broke down and opposing forwards were left open.
Thus, goalie Kayden Keating was peppered with shots pretty consistently in this contest and did well to hold the fort and keep the score respectable. Keating's heroics included a stop on a clear breakaway in the third period.
The defensive pairs of Aiden Hayes with Paul Steele and Brandon Miles with Andre Prato-Duran played well, but they were under a lot of pressure throughout the game, which is tough on any blueline group. In the third period, the bench staff shortened the forward bench by moving natural defencemen Gregory Nicolis and Anderson Watt, who'd both done well up front, back to the blueline in an attempt to spark some offence.
The tactic worked as Nathan Mason scored early in the third after Prato-Duran had held the puck in at the blueline and Owen Askew had fed him a pass. This goal gave the Hawks some life and they drew a penalty shortly thereafter. When James Nielsen banged in a rebound off a Kaelan Walsh shot in front it pulled the Hawks to within two goals with over 8 minutes left and it looked like the comeback might be on.
Sadly, it was not to be as the Nationals restored their three goal lead just over a minute later. But to the Hawks' credit, they fought hard until the end of the game and never gave up.
There were other positives in the game. Connor Devlin continued his good play from the previous game and was using his speed up the left wing to generate some chances. The Hawks have a preponderance of left-handed players which has often meant that Devlin has had to play the right side, but the recent evidence suggests the Hawks may want to find a way to keep him on his strong side. Likewise, Maria Fernanda Pimentel caused some turnovers with her hard work on the forecheck and nearly potted a goal at one point.
But the player of the game was Zoe Read. She continued her effective forechecking and passing game from the previous match and set up Mason and Pimentel for several chances. She also nearly banged in a couple rebounds herself.
But more importantly, when the fifth goal went in, Keating was visibly deflated. And Read, along with Miles, skated up to her goalie and consoled him with some kind words and a tap on his pads. This is the kind of sports(wo)manship the coaches want to see and so Read got the nod.
So, it was a tough loss, but there were also many positives and after all, house league hockey isn't all about winning: the life lessons learned are really far more important.
Go Hawks go!