After a good game in Glanbrook our Hawks traveled home for a great game against Caledonia 1 and I think our kids were looking a lot more like themselves. Skating hard, smart passing, driving the net and a lot of hustle on the backcheck....... yup, that is definitely our game. The first few minutes of the game looked a little cautious, a lot like they looked early in the season, getting a feel for the game and preparing to attack, it was a familiar start and I was happy to see it.
Caledonia was sure caught off guard when the Hawks suddenly took flight and went on the attack, it was just under 4 minutes into the game when Carly and Connor teamed up in front of the Caledonia net and Connor hammered home the first goal of the game. Caledonia was looking for the quick equalizer as they came back with an extra effort of their own but Nolan found a line of sight through a screen and flashed the leather for Caledonia as it looked certain to be headed for the mesh. Then the Hagersville D was in the spot light, breaking up plays, blocking shots and diving across the ice to stop passes from finding the target ensuring the play was never in our end for too long.
After being kept outside of scoring range for the latter part of the first Caledonia got loose on the breakout and were off on a breakaway or so they thought but Kaiden saw to it that his goalie was safe as he dove and knocked the puck into the corner just as the attacker was getting ready to fire. That defensive strategy continued through the 2nd period with all of the defensemen blocking shots and clearing pucks to the corners. Dean and Sam took the play to Caledonia on a 2 on 1, Dean with the heavy slapshot and Sam is rewarded for driving the net as he found the puck right on his tape and made the rebound goal look easy with 4 minutes to play in the 2nd period. The following faceoff the attack continued and Dean with a soft wrist shot that coasted over and into the ............ crossbar, the insurance goal was a near miss. Late in the period and Caledonia was pressing hard to get on the scoreboard but the Hawks matched the effort and kept the shots at a safe distance or clear of the net.
The third period was mostly played in the neutral zone, back and forth the pucked was bobbled, slapped and flipped around, it was like watching a volleyball match. Caledonia shook up the lines and moved a speedy defenseman to the forward attack but she was no match for our D and our centers as they kept her in check and out of harms way. Caledonia was awarded a PP after the halfway point of the third period but they only managed a couple of shots which were handled readily and the rebounds deflected to safety. Late in the period Caledonia pulled the goalie for an extra attacker giving Connor the opportunity to score his second of the game with an empty net goal, Dean gets the assist and they leave no doubt that they had earned this win with 3 periods of solid effort.
Next game is against Caledonia 2 on Saturday at 5:00 in Hagersville