Feb 16, 2015 | maiken | 734 views
Hawks Fly On
A game that brought out all the heart that this team has, this third meeting with Flesherton ended with a win to them. However, the compliments paid to the Dogs from the opposition Coach demonstrated that the Dogs got it going on! Final 1 to 3.
Flesherton made the trek to Paisley and the weather was cooperative. The Dogs were warmed, ready to go and the Hawks were all business. First goal of the game was for the Hawks, when they took the first faceoff and powered it straight to our end. 0 to 1. The Dogs woke up with that and the race for the next point was on. Brett had a great backhand shot. Spencer was on fire and hustled that puck over their blueline again and again. Will crashed their forward line. The Dogs were digging! The defence pairs were strong. Dogs were glad to have Dan, manning the line, fresh from other tourney. Brad muscled the puck through the Hawk feet and still the Dogs were nursing an egg on their side of the scoreboard. At 4:39, Hawks received their first penalty and the Dogs needed to make use of the one man advantage. Corson and Clayton got a little pass and go going and Corson took a nice run. Brett was making their goalie nervous, but still the Dogs were denied. The last couple of minutes were a frenzy of sticks and skates. Hawks got a second penalty for a stick a bit too high at 1:35 and Dogs had a second powerplay and Dogs spent much of that time giving the Hawk's goalie a workout. Dogs got their own penalty and the teams were skating four on four. Tyson made another of his wonderful saves with 28 seconds still to go and the period ended with no change in score and two hockey players remaining in the glass box of reflection for the start of the second.
These penalties were worked off and the Dogs were back to looking to even the score. Clayton stole the puck from their sticks time and again. The Hawk forwards were finding the IceDogs' end of the ice to be a tough place to stand! Chase had a great moment when he took the puck from a Flesherton player and left them wondering what had just happened at 12:18. This game was fast, end to end action and the Dogs played clean and hard. Defence were constantly putting their bodies in the way of the Hawk shots and there will be a fine collection of bruises to compare! Then, Mitch got the Dogs on the board with a strong skate down the ice and singlehandedly got it pass their goalie. Tied! Then the Hawks put a ton of pressure on Tyson at 7:20 and he must have stopped a dozen shot before the Dogs could get control of the puck again. It was amazing! As the time ran down, Brett had a great "almost" goal and it would have been a goal if that goalie hadn't been on fire this game. And so did Will, at 41.1 left. But it would remain 1 to 1.
After a short rest, both teams came back to finish this contest. The Dogs worked too. It became a battle to get that piece of black rubber over the blueline into the end of Flesherton. Spencer took on four Golden Hawks to muscle that puck into their end at 13:03. Mitch found they were looking to tie him up. Dogs were looking good. However, the next goal would be to the Hawks, after Tyson stopped the puck but the angle rolled the puck down his pads and just into the corner, at 11:18. 1 to 2. But the Dogs don't quit! Conor made a great chance with his long reach and fast feet. Spencer, Braydon and Mitch caused the Hawks goalie a great deal of concern at 7:36 with a wonderful shift. No matter what the IceDogs tried, they couldn't get that score to change. The Hawks did, at 4:35. 1 to 3. Coach changed up the lines, to shake it up, and every person on the ice skated with their entire heart. Hawks would get their third penalty of the game at 3:40 and for the final minutes, the Dogs threw everything at that goalie, except the kitchen sink! We pulled the goalie. We pulled all the stops! And despite everything, it would the Hawks that would record the win.
The AE IceDogs are a team that skates with their hearts and play right until the final buzzer, because, hey, you never know! This is a team that can always hold their heads high, because they don't turn chippy in the final minutes or whine about a bad shift or rough time. Their attitude, clean play and skills were even complimented by the Hawk's Coach! They are a joy to watch, cheer for and praise! There is more hockey to come and the fans are looking forward to every single second of it!! Next....Arthur! Go DOGS!