Jan 15-17/16 Shaftesbury Showcase

Game 1 - The Hawks squared off against the Saskatoon Stars, the class of Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA hockey league. The strong Saskatchewan squad leads their league by a long shot, and showed their strength in their speed. This would be the best game of the tournament for the Hawks as for two-plus periods, the girls matched their opponent's speed and intensity, shift after shift. There was no scoring in the first two periods, with shots on goal registering 10-9 Saskatoon in the first period and 10-7 Hawks in the second. Taylor had made some very good saves as most of the shots she faced were all in tight. Her exceptional reach and athleticism saved a couple of really good chances. With a total of six penalties in the first two periods, there wasn't a lot of interruptions in the flow of the game. The third period was a little different, with six penalties  assesed - per team. Undisciplined play ruled the period, and as such, resulted in goals. The first goal came off the stick of a Stars forward, at 14:37 of the third, when the Hawks couldn't clear the zone and with two girls crashing the net, Taylor was knocked about and a loose puck was slid in behind her. The Hawks would respond exactly one minute later when Chelsea picked up a loose puck she had stripped off the right winger, walked into the high slot and fired a laser that Stars netminder had most of, but it had enough to fight through her pads and into the back of the net. The Stars would come back with three more unanswered goals, one being an empty netter. Unfortunately, the Hawks would play two and a half periods of great hockey, and allow three goals within a six minute break. Final score would be 4-1, with the shots 29-28 for the Hawks. 

Game 2 - Saw the Hawks face a new foe in the Milwaukee Admirals. The American squad was a formidable opponent, but both teams played a little tentative to start, not getting many quality scoring chances in the first frame. The four shots that the Admirals managed against the tight checking Hawks were all in fairly close range, but Halle was there to turn them aside. The five shots the Hawks mustered didn't result in quality scoring chances. In the second frame it would be all Pembina Valley as the Hawks defense did their job and offense really stepped up. What seems to be ailing the Hawks as of late, is the inability of the offense to put the puck in the net. This can't be confused with a lack of trying, but either missed nets or shots into the goalies' chests won't result in many goals being scored either. The shots on goal in the second heavily swung in Pembina Valley's favour, 13-3. In the third, things would be a little more even, as the shots were 13-11 Milwaukee, but the shots the Hawks managed were better overall chances. Halle played amazing in the third, shutting the door on the pressing Admirals team. When the buzzer sounded to end the game, the shots were 29-20 Hawks, and the game remained scoreless. There was no overtime or shootout.

Game 3 - Saturday morning, early (8:00 am), the Hawks played Winnipeg's St. Mary's Flames for the first time this season. The game saw some back and forth action, and again, the Hawks played well defensively and stayed out of the penalty box. The Hawks would draw first blood though, when, with just over 10 seconds left in the period, Chelly intercepted an errant pass and skating into the middle of the ice, sniped a wrist shot over the Flames' goalie's blocker. The shots on goal in the first frame were 7-5 in the Flames' favour. In the second period the Hawks would continue the to play well defensively and outshoot the St. Mary's squad 6-4, but one of those four shots managed to squeak past Taylor. As the Flames were killing off a penalty, a long pass was picked up by the penalized player as she stepped out of the box. A Flames forward jumped into the play on the long pass, which resulted in a two on one. The trailing forward received a nice pass, and a quick shot from point blank range just managed to find it's way through Taylor, who managed to get most, but not all of it. The score after two periods was 1-1. In the third the Flames would pick up the pace and generate some more chances, more so than the Hawks were able to manage. The shots in the third were 14-8 for the Winnipeg team, with a final shots on goal tally of 25-19 for St. Mary's. Taylor made some outstanding saves in the third as most of the shots came from within the high slot and closer. In the end, the goaltending was the difference for the Hawks as the two teams skated to a 1-1 tie.

Game 4 - With a fairly quick turnaround, the Hawks took to the ice to face a familiar opponent, the Westman Wildcats, who also were playing on short rest. The two teams looked tired and perhaps having faced each other a few times lately, perhaps a little apathetic. There wasn't a lot to report in this game, there was no scoring in regulation, and the shoot-out did not produce a winner either. The Wildcats would open the shootout with Crowe scoring first, but she would be the only one to solve Halle, who would shut them out after that. Sage and Jenai weren't able convert, but Katie would to keep the Hawks alive. Then after Chelsea wasn't able to seal it, Halle made one final save, allowing Lindsay to be the hero. Lindsay would score, giving the Hawks the first win of the tournament. 

Game 5 - After a good night's rest, and being bumped to a later game slot (11:30, instead of 10:00) the Hawks looked more refreshed as they took to the ice against the Shaftesbury Titans. Really looking to end on a high note, the Hawks wanted this to be a statement game. 43 seconds into the game, on what looked to be a stoppage in play, turned out to be a goal. Some players had gone down behind the net, but there were two Titans standing in front of the net, and as the puck bounced in front of the net, one of the forwards just chipped it in. Before the fans had even settled into their seats, the Hawks were done one nothing. The shots would end up even 8-8 after one, but the Hawks would find themselves in an early hole. In the second, the Hawks would manage to outshoot their counterparts by a 7-5 margin, but one of those five shots on the Hawks net found its way into the Hawks net. A harmless shot on the net was tipped just in front of Taylor, who had no chance to react to the redirect. Heading into the third, the girls were on a mission to throw whatever they could on net. Creating scoring chances and shooting from wherever, the Hawks managed 14 shots on net, while allowing only 7. Again it would be the Titans scoring, when a slapshot on an empty net with 1:15 left in the third sealed the victory for the tournament hosts. Final shots on goal were 29-20 Hawks.

The coaches will now get to work, looking for ways to spark the offense and find ways to generate some productive offense. The goaltenders, Taylor and Halle did all they could do to keep their team in it, and the girls as a team, did a good job defensively. Hopefully the team chemistry will flourish as the league games become increasingly important. The girls will play again on Saturday, Jan 23rd, in Winnipeg against the Avros and Sunday afternoon in Warren when they take on the Interlake Lightning.