Lightning Rain On Hawks Home Opener
The Hawks were in Morden Sunday afternoon for their regular season home opener. Madison Froese got the start in net against the winless Interlake Lightning. In fact, the Lightning hadn't managed to score a single goal in their first three games, so the Hawks knew they'd be coming out strong to change their fortunes.
The Hawks started this game out on the right foot. They outshot the Lightning 7-4 in the first and scored the only goal of the period. Mackenna Steeves worked a give and go with Mia Brass at the offensive blue line. Steeves wristed a shot towards the goal that Casey O'Brien deflected towards the goalie. A rebound resulted and Sophia Cox jumped all over it to put the Hawks ahead.
The second period saw the Lightning find the back of the net for the first time this season. They won a puck battle below the Hawks goal line and snuck a nice wrap around effort past Froese to tie the game just over a minute into the frame. The Lightning added a second on a very slick end to end rush by Bragg. The Hawks tied the score just over a minute later. A nice zone entry with speed by Leah Klassen created the opportunity. Klassen's speed created space for Bree Pearce who took the puck behind the net and found Delaney Darby open at the blue line. Darby's attempt on goal was deflected by Payton Manness in the high slot. Pearce had the first crack at the rebound and after her attempt was stopped, the puck fell to Klassen, who finished the sequence she'd started, by jamming home the loose puck.
The Lighting showed great character by coming out to start the third with more jump and grit than the hosts. Their efforts were rewarded with two goals. The first came from an offensive zone faceoff, as they were quicker to find the rebound from a point shot. The second was just a result of their forwards wanting the puck more than our players off a turnover and they took a 4-2 lead with just under ten minutes to play. The Hawks did have a late game surge, but couldn't generate any further goals. Claire Boyd was chosen as player of the game for supporting her defence and for her usual solid all around work ethic.
The Hawks will be back in action next weekend with two home games. They welcome the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday afternoon at 4:30pm and will round out the weekend against the Westman Wildcats on Sunday at 2:30pm. The Hawks will be eager to get their first win of the season.
Go Hawks
Hawks Suffer Lopsided Loss To Avros
The Hawks were in Winnipeg Saturday to take on the Avros. Hannah Bannister was the starter and the Hawks were looking to bounce back after dropping their season opening game the day before.
Unfortunately, this game went south quickly and the Hawks were handed a resounding defeat by a score of 8-0. They were outshot 31-17 and just couldn't generate any high quality scoring chances. Delaney Darby was chosen as player of the game as she was solid on the blue line and made some smart poke checks.
The Hawks will look to right the ship on Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Interlake Lightning to Morden for their home opener.
Go Hawks
Hawks Drop Season Opener In Portage
The Hawks were in Portage Friday night to kick off the 2025/26 U18 AAA MFHL season against the Central Plains Capitals. Madison Froese got the start in net.
The Hawks dug themselves are early hole, falling behind 2-0 after twenty minutes of play. The Capitals opened the scoring on a good drive around the Hawks defence and a smart cut back across the crease to tuck in the first goal of the night. The lead was doubled on a power play late in the first.
The Hawks found their first goal of the regular season early in the second while on the power play. Some good work down low led to a puck retrieval by the Hawks. The puck was moved back to Rylee Harms at the point. She slid it across to her defensive partner Ella Victor, who fired a shot on goal. Bree Pearce was credited with the power play marker as she got a stick on it in front to pull the Hawks to within one.
The Capitals regained their two goal cushion early in the third and never looked back. The final score in the season opener was 3-1 Capitals. Victor was chosen player of the game for her hard work in the corners and solid defensive play.
The Hawks are back on the ice Saturday evening at the Seven Oaks Arena with a matchup against the Winnipeg Avros. Puck drop is set for 4:15.
Go Hawks
Hawks Drop 4-2 Decision Despite Solid Effort
The Hawks were back on the ice early Sunday morning for the second game of their exhibition weekend against the ND 16U and 19U AAA teams. After losing to the 16U team 6-2, the Hawks were hoping for a better result against the 19U squad.
The opening period saw the Hawks fall behind 1-0 on a nice individual effort by the ND forward. Despite giving up the period's only goal, the Hawks played well and generated several good scoring opportunities.
The Hawks evened the score right off the opening faceoff to start the second. All five players touched the puck to help Bree Pearce collect her first as a U18 Hawk. The draw was won back to Delaney Darby who moved the puck to her right, to her D partner Sinead Convery. Convery banked a pass off the wall to Chase Braun, who made a nice touch pass to Sophia Cox at the blue line. Cox' shot was saved, but Pearce was there to bang in the rebound and tie the game. The ND team got two more goals after that to take a 3-1 lead to the dressing room. The first was a strong drive around the Hawks' defense and a great finish with a cut to the net. The second was a nice pass from below the goal line to a player who moved undetected and unmarked into the slot.
The third period was once again very well played by the Hawks. They drew to within one goal just over halfway through the frame when Casey O'Brien used her size and strength to seperate the defender from the puck at the ND blueline. O'Brien then slid the puck over to a wide open Payton Manness, who froze the goalie with a fake shot, before pulling it to her backhand and tucking it into the open cage she created with the sweet fake. The Hawks pushed hard for the equalizer, but the ND team doubled the lead with just over two minutes to play from an offensive zone faceoff and the final score was 4-2.
Skyla Hildebrand was named player of the game for her stong two way play and relentless effort. The Hawks will travel home and have a few practices before jumping into regular season play next weekend. They start the season on the road in Portage on Friday night against the Central Plains Capitals.
GO Hawks
Hawks Drop Game One In Fargo Against ND 16U Team
The Hawks are in Fargo this weekend for a pair of exhibition games. They faced off against the ND 16U team on Saturday night and will meet the ND 19U team on Sunday morning.
Game one saw the Hawks end up on the wrong end of convincing 6-2 defeat. The opening period was all hosts. ND 16U opened the scoring off a rebound from a point shot, added a second on a shifty play that saw their attacker waltz through the Hawks defence and scored a third to give them a 3-0 lead after one.
The Hawks fought back to narrow the gap to one after the second period. They got their first on the power play when Delaney Darby left the puck for Casey O'Brien. O'Brien moved in to the slot and fired a good hard shot that produced a juicy rebound that Sopia Cox banked home to get the guests on the board. A few minutes later, Mackenna Steeves fired a hard pass from the point to Bree Pearce in the slot. Pearce's effort was stopped, but Skyla Hildebrand was on the doorstep to bang home another rebound goal, to give the Hawks life heading to the third.
Unfortunately, the final period did not go well. The ND 16U team got a lucky bounce early to double the lead and then added another shortly after on a shot from the half wall that seemed to surprise the Hawks goalie. The shifty ND team added a sixth later in the third to round out the scoring. The final shots were 30 apiece, but one would have to say the quality chances were tilted much more in favour of the winners.
The Hawks will get a good night's sleep and wake up bright and early for a matchup with the ND 19U team.
Go Hawks
Hawks Round Out Showcase On Losing Note
The Hawks had an early Sunday morning showdown with the Winnipeg Ice. It was the first meeting between the teams since the Ice knocked the Hawks out of the playoffs last season.
Hannah Bannister got the start for the visitors. She was solid in the opening period as the Ice outshot the Hawks 11-8, but neither team could find the back of the net.
The second period saw the Hawks break the deadlock just past the five minute mark. Claire Boyd was aggressive on a forecheck and got the puck to Casey O'Brien. O'Brien smartly slid the puck cross ice to a wide open Payton Manness, who converted the open net opportunity to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The Ice pushed back and managed to score two goals to grab the lead after forty minutes.
The third period got away from the Hawks as the Ice added four goals, to end up winning the game by a comfortable 6-1 margin.
Overall, the showcase weekend had some ups and downs for the Hawks. They will build off the experience as they get closer to the regular season starting. Next weekend sees the team head down to Fargo for a couple of games against the ND 16U and ND 19U teams.
Go Hawks
Hawks Earn Last Minute Draw With Yellowhead
The Hawks faced off against the Yellowhead Chiefs Saturday night in Portage. Both teams were sporting 1-1 records thus far in the CP Showcase weekend.
The game was tightly contested with both teams generating some quality chances in the opening period. The Chiefs grabbed the lead just before the halfway point of the first when Casey George snuck one past Madison Froese. It was the only shot that would get by her on the ngiht.
The second and third periods were well played with both goaltenders making some big saves. The Hawks pulled Froese late to try and generate some offense. With just under a minute to play, the extra attacker paid off. Casey O'Brien won a puck battle and found Mia Brass unmarked in the slot. Brass fired home a great shot to tie the game and help the Hawks bounce back with a tie after a tough loss earlier in the day.
The Hawks will be back on the ice early Sunday morning when they face the Winnipeg Ice at 8:45am. It will be the first time the Hawks face the Ice since the Ice eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs last season.
Go Hawks.
Plucky Hawks Avenge Preseason Loss To Eastman
The Hawks opened up the Central Plains Showcase weekend with a rematch against the Eastman Selects. The Selects got the better of the Hawks last week and were no doubt hoping for more of the same on Friday afternoon in Portage.
The game started slow with neither team generating much in the way of offensive chances in the first period. The second period saw the game open up, in large part due to a couple of early Eastman power plays. The Hawks managed to kill off the first, but Eastman took only ten seconds to take advantage of their second power play and jump out to a 1-0 lead. The Hawks didn't panic and continued to play hard. Their efforts were rewarded just past the eleven minute mark.
Casey O'Brien forced a turnover in her own end and Ella Victor collected the puck. Victor fired the puck through the neutral zone where a speedy Payton Manness got a step behind the defender. Manness collected the puck just below the faceoff dot in the Eastman zone and in one smooth motion, fired an absolute beauty of a shot up under the bar to tie the game. O'Brien picked the puck out of the net to give to Manness, as it was her first as a member of the U18 Hawks. The score remained deadlocked after forty minutes.
The last time these teams met, Eastman pulled away in the third. They most likely would have done the same on this day if it wasn't for the stellar play of Madison Froese, who made 26 saves in the third period alone. The Hawks rewarded Froese, by giving her a lead to defend, with just over nine minutes to play. The Hawks won an offensive zone draw and the puck moved to Victor at the right point. She passed it accross to her partner Delaney Darby, who made a great escape on her backhand to elude the defender. Darby moved the puck back to Victor who fired it towards the net. The shot hit a body in front and fell into the slot. Manness took a swipe at the puck and her backhand effort went accross the crease where it hit an Eastman defender and sat nicely for Sophia Cox, who calmly slid a backhand shot into the net to make the score 2-1.
The Hawks continued to withstand the Eastman pressure and even killed off a late penalty. With the Eastman net empty for an extra attacker, Froese made one of her 43 saves on the afternoon and kicked the puck out to Mia Brass. Brass looked cross ice to O'Brien who carried the puck up ice and waited until she got to the Eastman blue line, to fire the puck into the empty net and give the Hawks the 3-1 victory. Coach Matt Victor shared that Froese played great, the team forecheck was relentless and that the defence did a good job of moving pucks. Froese was the easy choice for player of the game on this day with 43 saves and adding an assist on the empty net goal.
The Hawks are back in action Saturday with two games. They face off against the Weyburn Gold Wings at 12:45 and follow that up against the Yellowhead Chiefs at 5:30pm.
GO HAWKS
Hawks Dismantled By Weyburn
The Hawks were coming off the high of beating Eastman and quickly realized Weyburn were going to be a very tough challenge. The Gold Wings scored early and often in the first displaying an impressive combination of speed and agility, mixed with toughness and physical dominance. When the dust settled, the Hawks headed to the dressing room down 5-0 after one.
The second period saw the Gold Wings add three more goals before the coaching staff made a change in net. Hannah Bannister could hardly be faulted on many of the goals as the Weyburn team generated so many high quality chances in close, they didn't have a hard time capitalizing on them.
The third period started with a Hawks power play and there was some hope they could at least apply some pressure and get a goal back. Unfortunately, Weyburn jumped on a turnover off the opening faceoff and scored their ninth goal of the game just 12 seconds in to the final period. The home team added a 10th on a scramble with just over two minutes to play.
The Hawks will likely file this game under the do not repeat category, but they would do well to learn from their opponents. The Saskatchewan team was fast and agile while being aggressive and physical. They will be a tough matchup for any opponent this season.
The Hawks have no time to lick their wounds as they are right back on the ice at 5:30pm to take on the Yellowhead Chiefs.
Go Hawks
Hawks Suffer Lopsided Loss To Avros
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