Game 3 vs Durham West Lightning (Team Ontario)

In a big game 3, the Hawks squared off against the tough Durham West Lightning team from Ontario. The Hawks looked like a different team than the one that played a day earlier. The girls looked fresh, had great team speed and played with much more intensity and purpose. The Hawks dictated the early play, forcing the Lightning back on their heels. The Hawks jumped out to the early lead when Makenzie McCallum fired a shot on net, and following it up hard, jumped on the loose puck, knocking it into the empty cage. Drawing assists on the play were Brooklyn Platt and Mackenzie Hutchinson. With very little in the way of offense in the first, the shots being 6-6, the Hawks would lead 1-0 after 1. In the second, the Hawks continued their strong play as the game opened up with more back and forth action. The Hawks would take a two goal lead when, on a broken play, Makenzie would return the passing favour and hit Brooklyn with a beautiful pass, and with a nifty forehand, backhand move, Brooklyn slid the puck casually into the net. This sent the partisan crowd into a frenzy. There would be no more scoring in the second. In the third, the Lightning would finally get on the board, when a low, five-hole shot would find it's way just under Halle's pads. This gave the home team Lightning a spark they were looking for, and it looked like they would have a glorious opportunity shortly thereafter, but a heads up defensive play broke up the three on one opportunity. Jumping into the play after this, was Katie Heppner, who took a head man pass from Alyssa. Katie skated up ice and carried the puck low in the face off circle. She let a backhand go that beat the goalie, short side, and the two goal lead was restored. The Hawks wouldn't let up and with a few minutes left in the game, Kenzie Heide took a feed from Kaila Powell, and Kenzie fired a wrister on net, which Hannah Petrie tipped as she skated in front of the crease, making it a 4-1 final. Halle shut the door for the rest of the match and the Hawks skated away with the huge team win. This was one the whole team could take credit for, as everyone worked hard and contributed in some fashion.