Apr 01, 2019 | GeoffRead | 1070 views
Hawks Fall in Overtime in Semifinals
The West London Hawks Atom A4 team didn't finish their season as they'd hoped: with a championship win, but they did finish in style, as the Hawks fought the eventual champion North London A4 squad to a 5-4 loss in overtime. It was a great effort by the Hawks, and if titles were awarded on the basis of effort alone, they would've walked out of the rink as champions. Certainly, they earned the right to walk out with their heads held high, feeling justly proud of the excellent season behind them.
The Hawks busted their butts in this game. And that started with the defence, as the Hawks iced three pairs: Brandon Miles with Paul Steele, Anderson Watt with Andre Prato-Duran, and Gregory Nicolis with Aiden Hayes. All three worked hard in the game, moving the puck up ice and doing their best to keep the potent North London Nationals' chances to a minimum. Some memorable plays made by the D: Paul Steele saved a goal in the third by sweeping the puck out of the crease; Brandon Miles repeatedly stood up the top National sniper with outstanding one one one defence; Anderson Watt played with tenacity in his own end and relentlessly cleared the puck up the boards; Andre Prato-Duran read the play well and repeatedly stepped up on the Nationals' breakout to keep the puck in their end and the pressure on them. Gregory Nicolis played with quiet resolve and picked up an assist. And Aiden Hayes scored a memorable goal, the Hawks' third, on a nice wrist-shot from the point.
The forwards too worked extra hard in this one, whether it was pinning the Nationals in their end or hustling back to help out the defence. The scoring plays reflected the team effort that went into the Hawks' game. On the first goal of the game, Zoe Read took the puck along the boards on a pass from Connor Devlin. She took several strides with the puck and then put it right on the tape of Nathan Mason who was breaking up the middle. Mason then went wide on the Nationals' defence to get a partial breakaway and snipe the game opener.
With that marker, the Hawks served notice they were going to push the Nationals in this one. And this feeling only gained strength when, three minutes later, James Nielsen drove the net leading the puck to squirt loose to net-front super-pest Owen Askew who picked the puck out of a scrum and rifled a hard wrister into the top corner. With that the Hawks were up 2-0.
But the Nationals were resilient and evened first pulled within one late in the first, then tied it early in the second, and then went up 3-2 mid-way through the middle frame.
The Hawks might have folded their tents and gone home at that point but that just isn't how this outfit rolls. Instead, they bore down, continued to put pressure on the Nationals, and were rewarded when they pinned the Nationals in their end and the Nationals' defence make a weak clearing attempt that came to Hayes at the point. Hayes walked the line to the middle of the ice and let a wrister rip that bulged the twine. 3-3.
The Hawks had some glorious chances to pull ahead but none better when early in the third when Mason broke up the right side on a 2 on 1 with Read. He put a perfect pass across to Read who bore down on the net and got maybe her hardest shot of the season off that looked headed for the net about halfway up on the goalie's blocker side. Indeed, the goalie appeared to miss it but the puck ricocheted off the inside of his blocker, then off his side, and spilled back out towards Read. She one-timed the rebound, which also looked like it was going to go in but instead it banged off the outside of the post.
Then finally, Mason engineered another play that did put the Hawks ahead. Nicolis held the puck in at the point and dumped the puck around the boards. Mason picked it up and skated around behind the net. Kaelan Walsh made a heads up play, listening to the advice the coaches have been giving the forwards all season and banged his stick and called for the pass. Mason heard Walsh, put a pass right into #12's wheelhouse, and Walsh ripped a one-timer in on the short side. 4-3 Hawks.
For a while it appeared that would be enough for the Hawks to take the game. But with about two minutes to go the Hawks got themselves in trouble, and proved unable to get the puck out of their zone. The puck came up on both sides of the ice, and in both cases the wingers weren't able to field the passes cleanly and clear the puck out. This, as tends to happen, led eventually to a bad turnover and a clear chance for the Nationals' best player, who buried a high wrist shot past goalie Kayden Keating.
So it was off to overtime. On the first shift, Mason and Askew took the ice with Miles but had trouble getting out of their own end. Over the boards came Read, Nielsen, and Hayes. Nielsen took the puck wide and fired it towards the net. It looked good and like Read might pick it up and score, but alas, the Nationals cleared the puck away, the same player who'd gotten the equalizer scooped it up, carried it down the ice, and scored.
The game had multiple unsung heroes besides those who were on the score sheet. Maria Fernanda Pimentel was a whirling dervish on the ice battling for the puck, making passes, and putting pressure on the opposition's defence. Devlin, who as noted picked up an assist, also had one of his finest games using his speed and tenacity to contribute all game long. And Troy Price, although he surprisingly didn't get a point in the contest, was carrying the puck with authority all night and led his teammates by example on the backcheck.
Finally, one cannot forget player of the game goaltender Kayden Keating. It's not often that the goalie lets in five but gets game MVP honours, but Keating made a handful of outstanding saves to thwart the Nationals, completing a season where he was the steady presence between the pipes who gave his teammates the confidence to play well in front of him.
So on the whole, it was an excellent finish to a very good season.
Go Hawks go!