Thursday Feb 26/15 Game 2 of the Playoffs

Looking to build on the terrific momentum that they had started in game one, the Hawks travelled to Winnipeg in hopes of defeating the Avros on their home ice to clinch the first round of the playoffs. The girls were confident after riding a high of emotion in the previous day's game, but they knew that Winnipeg wouldn't just hand them game two. With their backs against the wall, the Avros would come out flying, trying to stave off elimination. Standing in their way would be a very confident goalie in Taylor, who played a super solid game in net in game one. Right from the moment the puck dropped, it would be Avros who would carry the play, forcing the Hawks back on their heels. Pembina Valley could not muster the intensity to match what their opponents brought early on. Taylor was tested early and she was up to the task as she thwarted each attempt. This game was quite different than the first game, which was marked with several powerplay and penalty kill opportunities. The Winnipeg officials were content to have the girls battle hard and not put either team in the box. Depsite being outplayed and outchanced, it would be the Hawks who would strike first, when Brooklyn Platt scored the first goal of the game at 9:27. There had been a bit of a scramble in front of the Avros net, and after both Chelsea and Sage took turns whacking at the puck, Brooklyn lifted it over the sprawling Avros netminder. Both Chelsea and Sage drew assists on the play. Only 25 seconds after that, a turnover in the neutral zone led to Lindsay picking up the puck and sliding it over to a rushing Kate, who noticed her teammates changing and allowing her to jump into the play. After receiving the pass from Lindsay, Kate crossed the blue line and rifled a shot that beat the Winnipeg goalie low to the glove side, putting the visitors up 2-0. Despite being down by two goals, the Avros kept pressing and continued to dominate the play and shots on net, but it would be the opportunistic Hawks who would capitalize again when Mac unloaded a shot from the blue line, again, low glove side, chasing the starting goalie from the game. This goal came about after some great work down low by Brooklyn Major who saw Alyssa get herself in position to find Mackenzie open at the blue line. After this there would be no more scoring in the first, so the visiting Hawks skated into the dressing room with a 3-0 lead despite being outshot 15-8 in the period. Everyone knew that this Avros team had come back from a 4-0 deficit earlier on in the season, so no one figured this lead was safe, especially how well Winnipeg was playing. The second period was all Avros. They played like they wanted it more, and it showed in the intensity that they brought. The only thing standing in their way of completey taking over the game was a 6'1" goaltender from Morden who refused to let that happen. Even though the Avros outshot the Hawks 19-7 in the second frame, only one shot managed to find its way in the Hawks net, when after making two acrobatic point-blank shot saves, a third rebound was picked up by the trailer, which the Hawks defenseman couldn't quite reach. Other than that lone goal, there would be no other scoring in the second period, so the Hawks would skate into the second intermission nursing a two goal advantage. Now we're assuming that the coaches commented on what they saw as a lacklustre performance, because it would be a different Hawks team that came out in the third. Being only 20 minutes away from clinching their berth into the second round, the Hawks turned the tables on their opponent, coming out hard. Starting the period on the powerplay, the girls made quick work of their opportunity, when Chelsea fed the puck back to a waiting Kate, who blasted a shot on net. Waiting for the juicy rebound was Sage who steered the puck around the outstretched netminder, restoring the visitors' three point lead. From there on in it would be Taylor's show who stymied the Avros dangerous offensive threats. The shots in the third were 15-7 for the Hawks. As the clock ticked down, the Avros threw everything they had at the Hawks, but there would be no comeback this time. As the final buzzer sounded, the Hawks loudly cheered as they hugged their goalie. Meanwhile a subdued Avros team gathered at their end, as some of their talented players pondered the end of their midget careers. A well fought season series ended with a bang for Pembina Valley as they defeated their first round foes 2-0, outscoring them 11-2 in the process. With this being the first series clinched in the MFMHL, the girls will have to wait to see if they play the waiting Central Plains Capitals, or if there is an upset in one of the other first round match-ups. Stay tuned...