Wednesday Feb 25/15 - The Playoffs...

Just like that the regular season is behind us, and the playoffs, aka the second season, is upon us. With the standings the way they unfolded, Pembina Valley ended up in fourth position, which meant the Winnipeg Avros would be the first team to stand in the way of the Hawks seeking to defend their provincial title. Wednesday evening the girls took to the ice at 7:30 pm to show everyone what they were made of. Jeff, Matt and the other coaches had worked all season to prepare these girls for this moment. From the drop of the puck, the Hawks set the pace, pushing the play deep into the Avros zone. Every line rolled out there and forced the play. The Hawks dominated early in the period, hemming the Avros deep in their zone and attacking with relentless forechecking. This great offensive attack was rewarded early, when one a shorthanded rush, Captain Kate picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, busted across the blue line and blasted a low shot which beat the Winnipeg netminder five-hole with 12:39 left in the first. This sent the partisan crowd into a loud collective cheer, and set the tone for the rest of the period. A few minutes later, the first line would strike for their first of the game, when some great passing in the attacking zone, Brooklyn Platt slid the puck over to Sage who found Chelsea in front of the net, and she made no mistake, beating the goalie for her first of the playoffs, and giving the Hawks a 2-0 advantage. Then with time winding down, it would be Lindsay getting in on the action when she took a pass from Burgandy and wired one top shelf, giving the home crowd even more reason to celebrate. Notching the second assist on that goal was Ginny, who would end up with three points on the night. Shots on goal in the first were Hawks - 16, Avros - 10. Going into the second period, the girls were taking no chances, wanting to keep thier foot on the gas. They had coughed up a lead more than once to this same team, and they weren't planning on doing that again. The first half saw some back and forth action, but when the powerplay opportunities presented themselves, the girls jumped on the chance to pad the lead. At 11:20 in the second, Ginny would rip a wrist shot high to the blocker side, giving the Hawks a 4-0 lead, after some great back and forth passing from Mac at the blue line. Mackenzie drew the lone assist on the play. After getting into a little penalty trouble of their own, the Hawks found themselves trapped in their zone on a 5 on 3 situation. A fairly harmless shot on net was deflected just over the shoulder of a helpless Taylor, who had the low angles covered. This gave Winnipeg a little life with 5:13 to go in the second, but the Hawks would snuff that right out, after killing the remaining penalty on the board. Then with 2:21 left in the frame, another powerplay opportunity gave the Hawks a chance to take a four goal lead into the second intermission. This time it would be Burgandy, scoring her first of the game, after some great passing from Ginny and Katie. Burgandy, who was right in front of the net, shovelled the puck past the helpless Avros netminder to make it a 5-1 game. Shots in that period were even at 10 apiece. Going into the third period, the fans were hoping the girls would finish strong instead of putting it on cruise control. Needless to say, the lady Hawks were in the same frame of mind. 7:51 into the final period, it would be Burgundy again, potting her second goal of the night and third point, making it a 6-1 contest. After some back and forth passing between Mac at the blue line and Katie on the far boards, Mac unloaded a heavy shot from the point that the goalie made a save on, but there to clean up the rebound was Burg. Not to be outdone, with 2:34 remaining in the game, Alyssa alertly saw an opportunity on an Avro line change to swoop in on a breakaway and running out of room fired a low, sharp angle shot that beat the goalie five-hole, sealing the victory in game one. Taylor played a terrific game in net, turning aside all but one of the 30 shots fired at her, but this victory was a team one. When the dust settled, the team was a plus 19, with eleven different girls getting points in this one. Even though not everyone was on the scoresheet, each one contributed to this important first win of the playoffs. It was clear the girls came to play, and it was evident that they were having fun out there. A great way to start the playoff run! Game two goes tomorrow, Thursday Feb 26th, at 7:15 at the Keith Bodley arena in Winnipeg's west end.