Sep 09, 2018 | Mike Boates | 334 views
Hawks Are Ajax Break The Ice Tournament Champions
The Rhino Hockey Training Atom A Hawks persevered through 6 games this weekend to claim their first ever tournament championship.
On Friday in game 1 the Hawks got off on the right foot beating the host Ajax team 6-1.Brendan Reid led the offence with a hat trick while Connor Boates scored two. Pearson McDonald added the other marker. Aiden Haker, Tyson Gregory and Quinton Bogart picked up assists. Cooper Martin got the win in net.
In game 2 the Hawks could not find the score sheet and fell 3-0 to the defending Lakeshore League regular season champions, the Whitby Wildcats (White). Noah Groeneveld had a strong game between the pipes.
Saturday morning the Hawks would face off another tough opponent in the East Gwillimbury Eagles. They trailed 1-0 after one period but scored three unanswered goals in the second period and held on for a 3-2 win. Goals came from Reid(2) and Bogart while assists went to Haker(2) and Connor Kokonas. Cooper Martin was solid in net picking up the win.
After the round robin portion of the tournament the Hawks held the fourth seed and would face the Newmarket Redmen in the quarterfinals. This was a very tight back and forth game that was tied 1-1 going to the third period. The Redmen looked to seal the victory when they broke a 2-2 tie with just under 5 minutes to go in the final period but the Hawks would not give up and tied the game with 59 seconds remaining forcing the game to a three man shootout. With teams even at a goal a piece in the shootout Connor Boates would fond the back of the net and Noah Groeneveld would shut the door at the other end sending the Hawks to the semi-finals. Gavin Armstrong, Reid and Tyson Gregory scored the regulation goals for the Hawks with assists going to Reid(2), Haker, Kokonas and Armstrong.
On Sunday morning in the semi-final the Hawks got a rematch with their nemesis the Whitby Wildcats a team they have never been able to beat. It would be a different story on this day as the Hawks put together an incredible effort to over power the Wildcats and come away with a 7-1 victory. Boates led the offence with a hat trick. Other goals came from Gregory, MacDonald, Bogart and Reid. Assists went to Colby Wiersma, Owen Vis and Armstrong. Cooper Martin picked up his third win of the weekend in net.
In the final the Hawks would match up against the Oshawa Generals. The home side had a 2-0 lead heading to the third period and came out with a 3-2 win to claim the championship. Kokonas paced the offence with two goals while Matt Hicks picked up a single. Reid(2) and Armstrong picked up assists. Groeneveld secured the win in net.
The Hawks will open their Lakeshore League regular season next week with games against the Peterborough Petes on Saturday at home before heading to Uxbridge on Sunday to take on the North Durham Warriors.