Mar 3/16 vs Central Plains Capitals, Round 2 of the Playoffs

Game 1 of the second round saw the second place Hawks host the Central Plains Capitals at the Access Event Centre in Morden, March 3/16. The game started out with the home team dictating the pace of the play and some aggressive forechecking had the Caps back on their heels for some extended periods of time. The Hawks neutralized the speed of the Caps forwards with some great skating of their own. 9:58 into the first, Pembina Valley got on the board when Mackenzie Hutchinson kept the puck in the offensive zone, throwing it down deep to Katie in the corner. A quick pass to the front of the net and rookie Makenzie McCallum buried the puck behind the goalie giving the girls a boost. This momentum continued for the Hawks until an unfortunate series of events led a Caps goal. As the Hawks were making a late change, taking advantage of the home ice, the referee waved off the girls coming onto the ice, and in thinking the coaches pushed the envelope, made a defenseman take the draw. Abbey won the face off back to Ginny, who moved back to cover the position.  A pass over to her D partner fluttered enough that before it could make it to Meg, a speedy Sheridan Oswald picked it up, catching everyone flat-footed, and walked in uncontested. A quick shot to Taylor’s blocker side found the back of the net, evening the score at one apiece. This goal seemed to take a lot of wind out of the girls’ sails, as for the next 30 minutes or so, the girls really struggled to regain their composure. The first period would end with a 1-1 score, but momentum was clearly favouring the visitors. Shots after the first were 9-8 in favour of the Caps. In the second it was all Central Plains, as they skated hard, moved the puck well and controlled the play. With 7:43 left in the frame, the Caps would score goal number two, when after a long shift where the Hawks couldn’t change, the fresh legs of the Caps would take advantage. Pembina Valley couldn’t get the puck out of the zone, and a quick pass across the ice couldn’t be blocked and a one timer beat Taylor cleanly. The Hawks would battle hard through a tough period, and with 21 seconds left in the period, Sage would take a pass in the face off circle, spin and fire a laser far side, top shelf, tying the game up at 2. Getting the helpers on that goal were Chelsea and Ginny. The defensive period reflected in the shots on goal, with the visitors upping the home team by an 8-5 margin. Despite a much better effort in the third, the Hawks would give up two more goals, one on a wrist shot wired by Oswald and one empty netter. The final score would be a disappointing 4-2 loss, with the girls being outshot 26-24. They may have deserved a better fate, but a lack of 60 full minutes of passion allowed the Capitals to wrestle away the home ice advantage.

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Game 2 saw the girls travel to the BDO Centre in Portage, where, despite some successful games this year, the confines have not been always friendly. Knowing that a second loss would result in being a long way from where they want to be, the Hawks really wanted to start the game off right and show everyone how they were able to earn second place in league standings. That is exactly what they did. From the moment the game began, the Hawks took it to the Caps and showed them the pride they have in their organization and in each other. Sixteen seconds in...(16 seconds!) the Hawks scored, giving the bench a huge boost and the visiting crowd a reason to cheer. Chelsea picked a loose puck out of the corner, where Sage had been battling, and walking into the high slot, ripped a shot, that may have deflected off of Alyssa, who had skated in front of the Caps netminder, into the far side of the net. The official awarded the goal to Alyssa, with Chelsea drawing the assist. Regardless of who actually scored, the Hawks were on the board first, and the ball was rolling in the right direction. The Hawks kept up the pressure, and after killing off a Caps powerplay almost halfway through the first, they picked up where they left off, when Abbey smartly fired the puck in deep. That pass was picked up by Katie below the goal line. She skated around the net, saw a wide open Ginny and fed her a pass that Gin hammered in far side, past the helpless goalie, giving the Hawks a two goal lead. This lead held up for the remainder of the first. Halle was outstanding in the first, making saves off deflections, redirects, and open looks. In the second, it was more of the same. The Hawks forechecked aggressively, skating as a team as well as they have all season, and kept pressuring the home squad. With 12:55 left in the second, great puck pressure led to a turnover at the Caps blue line where Jenai corralled the puck and fired a wrist shot on net, right where Ginny was providing a screen. As the goalie made the sprawling save, Katie, who was swooping in for the rebound, took the puck on her backhand just behind the goal line and lifted it off the side of the goalie’s mask and into the back of the net, giving the Hawk the 3-0 edge. 6:56 later, McCallum would add another Hawks goal. After some great work by Lindsay keeping the play alive at the Central blue line, sacrificing her body along the way, Jenai was able to skate in and get a great scoring opportunity, which was stopped, but both Brooke Roeges and Makenzie alertly followed suit and just beating her teammate to the puck, Makenzie poked it through, under the Caps netminder, who was desperately trying to reach the puck. This would lead to the Capitals coaching staff switching goalies, hoping to stop the flow. With 3:04 left in the frame, the Hawks would notch one more though, this time from Chelsea. With Alyssa skating hard after a Capitals defender, and just out-determining, and out-muscling her, she got her to cough up the puck just as Chelly arrived on the scene. Chelsea picked up the puck on her backhand, and with Alyssa tying up her man, Chelsea wisely shifted to her forehand towards the middle of the ice, and using the defenseman as a screen, unloaded a quick wrist shot top shelf, glove hand, which lifted the water bottle off the net before the goalie knew it was by her. This gave the girls a comfortable five goal cushion heading into the dressing room for the second intermission. The girls let up a little in the third, and on the scoreboard, the Hawks lost the third 1-0, on a screened shot that just dipped inside the far post that Halle couldn’t pick up in time. But this night would belong to the Hawks. Halle saved her best game of the season for the Hawks most important game of the season so far, and she was brilliant. The defense can’t get enough credit for using their speed, their grit in the corners and selfless determination in blocking shots. Every single line contributed, both forwards and D, and Halle made some key saves to make this a runaway victory for the Hawks. The girls played tough, Pembina Valley hockey, for a full 60 minutes, and they earned the victory in the hostile BDO Centre, and with that, restoring the home ice advantage. Game 3 goes tomorrow, Sunday, March 6th at 5:15 in Morden.

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Game 3 saw the series shift back to Morden, and the Hawks were hoping to both match the intensity of their previous game, and in turn, reverse their fortunes against the Capitals, at home. The beginning of the game saw the Hawks a little more tentative than what the home crowd was hoping for. The girls seemed to almost be battling themselves a little as they couldn't make the same crisp passes and the puck often bounced off the sticks. They hung in there though, and kept it a defensive battle for the first period. There was no scoring, and not many quality scoring opportunities, but this late in the season, every shot is dangerous and potentially momentum shifting. The shots on goal were 9-6 in favour of the Hawks, and each team had one powerplay opportunity. In the second, the Hawks were determined to continue the trend of scoring first in each of the contests. With 7:10 left in second, they did just that. The Grenier/McCallum/Heppner line had a great forecheck going on one shift and when the puck got deflected up near the the top of the circles, Katie gloved it down, fought off a check and ripped a shot high over the Capitals goalie's glove to give the home squad the lead. Credited with the assist on the play was Makenzie. The remainder of the period saw the girls play responsible defensive hockey, clogging up the lanes and being physical all around. The period would end with the Caps outshooting Pembina Valley 11-8, but the home team up where it counted, the scoreboard. Although everyone from the home side hoped that the one goal lead would suffice, no one was counting the Caps out just yet. In the third, the Hawks really played defensively, looking like they were sitting back and trying to hold the lead. There were some alright chances, but the Hawks seemed to be content keeping it a one goal game. With 9:50 left in the game, clinging to a one goal lead, the Hawks were unable to clear the zone, and with the always dangerous Sheridan Oswald on the ice, the puck found her. She made no mistake as she used the Hawk defenseman as a screen and fired a shot past Halle. Despite making some great saves and keeping her team in it for as long as she did, there was not much Halle could have done on the play. With the score tied at one, the rest of the game was watched on pins and needles, with both sides wondering who would break first. Despite some tense moments in the final few minutes, regulation timed ended in a draw. The first period of OT saw a fairly defensive affair, but Sage did have a glorious opportunity to put the game away, when she got a defenseman to cough up the puck and she skated in alone. A great move and quick shot was stopped, much to the delight of the Central fans. The first OT came to a close with no score and a 10-6 shot advantage for the visitors. After a flood, the fifth period started, but came to halt almost as quickly as it started. A turnover in the Hawks zone led to a quick pass up the middle, where the Caps star, Sheridan Oswald ripped a shot past Halle for the game winner. The visiting team had just wrestled home ice away from the Hawks for the second straight road win, forcing the Hawks to face a must-win game on the road on Wednesday, to keep their season alive. The Hawks will have to show up, ready with their A game to see their season continue.

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Game 4 saw the Hawks return to the BDO Centre for the Community in Portage on Wednesday, Mar 9th. Unfortunately, that sound you heard was the girls' season coming to a crashing halt, at the hands of the defending champion Central Plains Capitals. With all the excitement and the promise of how well the girls have performed this year in Portage's barn, the expectation couldn't be met on the ice. An early goal in the game's first minute, saw the home team take the early one goal lead. The girls, and the visiting fans all hoped that this was a sign of a different game, with the Hawks having scored first in each of the previous three games, but still coming out on the losing end of two of them. Perhaps a come from behind win would be in the cards and serious series momentum shift would happen for the Hawks. The girls tried desperately to get that tying goal. That crucial goal would just not come, even though the girls pressed increasingly throughout the game. As Halle was pulled late in the game to provide the extra skating attack, a deflected shot on the Caps net almost went in, but the Hawks were denied again. 366 days after they were elimitated from MFMHL playoffs in the second round, the Hawks were defeated once again, by a one goal game, at the hands of the Capitals, in Portage. The season came to a close and the girls shook hands for the last time of the season, skating off in bitter disappointment...