Sunday Feb 1/15 - Final Regular Season Game

Going into the last game of the regular season, the girls knew that this game would be the same match up as they would see in the first round of the playoffs. Although some teams had games in hand over us, the playoff match ups were determined already, and this game would set the tone. The Hawks travelled to the Keith Bodley arena in Winnipeg's west end for a Sunday aftenoon tilt. The game would prove to be a spirited one, with a vocal crowd, great back and forth action and some great goaltending. In the first the play would go end to end, with each team bending but not breaking. There would be some point blank shots and terrific set ups at both ends of the ice, but both goalies were determined to steal the show. At one end, Chelsea took a feed from Katie and ripped a shot into what seemed to be a wide open net, but somehow the Avros netminder came up with a remarkable save. The visiting crowd was cheering because they thought she had scored, and the home team's crowd was cheering the great save. At the other end of the ice, Corinne made an impossible left pad save on a screen shot, and then stopped a girl who was wide open in front of the net. As good as the goaltenders were, the Hawks would find a way to score when on a great shift where the Dearsley/Thiessen/Heppner line kept the puck deep in the attacking zone. With a bunch of players tied up in the high slot, Chelsea and Katie dug the puck out and flipped it back to the point where Jenai stepped into a shot that blasted through traffic and into the back of the net, with 3:48 left in the first. There would be no other scoring in the frame and the shots were 14-12 in the Hawks favour. The second period saw more see-saw action, but the Avros came out with a little more momentum, and scored their first of the contestat 10:15. The Hawks pushed back, but the Winnipeg netminder was equal to the task. There would be no other scoring in the second, even though the Hawks outshot the home team 14-9. The Hawks wanted to come out strong in the third and establish that they would be the team to beat, and that's just what they did. Fighting through adversity, where they had to kill off three penalties in the frame, they kept plugging away. at 9:14 they were rewarded with another goal when Ginny worked the puck low, passed it over to Sage who set up a pinching Kate who one-timed it and scored the go ahead goal. The Hawks kept up the pressure, but weren't able to get that two goal cushion. With under four minutes to play, Chelsea took a great stretch pass that she clearly tipped at the blue line. Inexplicably, not one of the three officials saw the tip and icing was called. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they couldn't change and the Avros scored on the ensuing face off. Shaking off the bad break the girls pressed hard in the final two minutes but they could not find that go-ahead goal. Overtime was exciting with more back and forth action, Corinne played incredible, stopping what could have been a sure goal late in the extra frame. Overtime solved nothing, so a shoot out would have to. Mac went first, but was unable to convert. Corinne stopped the first shooter. Lindsay was up next and she made no mistake, firing it past the Avros goalie. Corinne made a great sprawling save to stone the next shooter. This set the table for Sage who dangled, hammered on the brakes and slid the puck into the back of the open net, sealing the victory for the Hawks. Final score was 3-2, and the final shots were Hawks 42, Avros 35. Great, exciting way to end the regular season, with an emotional charged win.  Next up for the Hawks is a weekend set in Fairbault, MN, where the girls will visit Shattuck St Mary's. Great job Hawks!!