Apr 07, 2025 | jmerklinger | 824 views
U11 Hawks win back to back Gold at Alliance
The U11 Hawks went undefeated and successfully defended their B title this past weekend at the Alliance Championships in Brantford. The weekend kicked off with a hard fought 1-0 win against the first place Hamilton Huskies. Michael Fielder (with help from his linemates, Jaden McConnell and William Newton) broke the scoreless tie in the third period. Strong play from Simon Ashby in net held the Huskies off the scoresheet and secured the win.
Friday evening the Hawks' offense exploded for a 7-4 victory over the Brantford 99ers with goals from Ben Farrell (2), William Merklinger (2), Adrian Pancino, Cole Maclellan and Jaden McConnell. Andre O'Neill-Zorrilla and Landon Leeper assisted on multiple goals.
On Saturday the Hawks secured their spot in the finals with a well earned 2-0 win over the Oakridge Aeros. Jaden McConnell opened the scoring halfway through the second period. Levi Fluit added an insurance goal 3 minutes into the third period with a hard shot from the point. Simon Ashby stood strong in the net, posting his second shutout of the weekend!
On Sunday morning the Hawks found themselves matched up against their rivals, the Hamilton Huskies, in the finals. The two teams had played each other 6 times throughout the season with each team winning 3 of the games. As expected, the game was a tight defensive battle. The Hawks relied heavily on exceptionally strong play from their defense (Julia Hoffman, Levi Fluit, Cameron McConnell, Andre O'Neill-Zorrilla, Clinton Wang and Hudson Borrows) and perfect goaltending from Holden Saunders. The game was scoreless through 3 periods and went to a 3 on 3 overtime. A minute into overtime Bryce Norris jumped on Ben Farrell's rebound and beat the Huskies goaltender to bring home the gold for the Hawks!
The win capped off a very successful season for the team. The players were able to elevate their game when it counted, going 19-5-1 (including 9 shutouts) in tournament/playoff games and 7-3 in elimination games. Congratulations Hawks on a great season! Your coaches are very proud of your accomplishments and how far you have come throughout the season.