Keswick Valley Has Hawks Seeing Red Stars! - January 25th, 2014

It was a long awaited showdown to be sure. The Hawks well remembered the tough loss they suffered in their home rink at the hands of the Keswick Valley Red Stars on November 18^th. That game came down to the wire, and with the contest knotted at 4 with the clock ticking down in the 3^rd, the Red Stars completely hemmed the Hawks in their zone for the final 60-seconds, and had to be given full credit for their victory on the decisive goal coming with a mere 6-seconds to play. For the Hawks, it was further insult to injury, as it marked their second straight loss to open the regular season. What no one could have known at the time, however, was that this would not deflate, but rather galvanize, their Hawks! From that point, the Hawks went on a torrid pace going undefeated in their next nine league games with only one tie in the mix, and had climbed from the basement of the 11-team league standings to sit in 3^rd place. That said, nothing had changed for the Keswick Valley Red Stars, who came into the tilt as the only remaining undefeated league team. WHAT A MATCH UP! WHO WOULD WANT IT MORE?!

As anticipated, this was a close checking affair, neither team willing to give up any ground to the other with furious action at both ends of the ice testing the nerves of the players, coaches and fans alike! With 5:40 left to play in the 1^st, a BREAKTHROUGH! Jonathyn Oland-Simon, coming up on a rush from his defensive position was driven wide in the offensive zone, and ripped a shot that was stopped by Keswick net minder Spencer Fillon, but left a rebound out front that was collected by Will Shaw, who had been driving hard to the net, and he tucked it home in the open left side. That seemed to energize the Hawks who kept coming for more, and managed to up the lead to 2-0 with but 22 seconds left to play in that opening period. This time, on a DETERMINED effort by Denver Pike. Duncan Christie had started the play with a shot in from the point that was blocked, and it looked like the puck was going to be moved harmlessly from the Keswick zone by their defense until Denver, coming from his perfect position in front of the Keswick goal, lifted the Keswick player’s stick, stole the puck, spun back to the net and fired a bullet off the left post and in! Things were looking good for the Hawks, but Keswick showed just why they sit atop the District 3 league standings by responding with a vengeance. Right off the following faceoff the puck found its way to the Hawks Defense just inside the left of their own blue line, but before they could clear, a hard charging Logan Brewer stripped the puck, and headed to the Hawks net for a shot that eluded Justin Chronkite. The goal would come with 13 seconds left in the first (only 9-seconds after the Hawks had jumped ahead by 2).

From there, a titanic struggle would ensue where quality scoring chances were to be few and far between, and those that did materialize were turned away competently by Spencer Fillon and Justin Chronkite. Time continued to tick away in the 3^rd period with the Hawks still clinging to their 2-1 lead. How would it end? Would Keswick pull out the same incredible push they had displayed in the first meeting? NOT THIS TIME! The Hawks were ready, and rather than give Keswick the opportunity to put the puck in harm’s way in the Hawks zone, made a charge of their own, keeping the Red Stars in their zone for the final seconds of play. That pressure culminated in the game sealing tally by the Hawks with 11 seconds to play. The goal came from Keaton MacPhee on a shot from the right of the Keswick net minder, and was setup by Luke McLellan and Will Shaw.

The victory represented yet another solid outing by the Hawks but, more importantly, cemented that they could hang tough with any team in the league. It also put the Hawks in the position of being only a single point behind the Keswick Valley Red Stars and Grand Lake Wilde in the District 3 standings!

There were many Hawks stars in this one, and it was tough to choose a single Hard Hat winner. Honorable mentions went to:

• Josh DesRoaches – solid defensive effort! Josh was extremely deft at holding the puck inside the Keswick zone, seemingly, every time it was attempted to be cleared. He also negated any dangerous rush attempts that tested his right defensive position.
• Denver Pike – Denver has been a rising star for this team of late, and his DETERMINED goal at the end of the 1^st period proved to be the game winner!

But, the definition of Hard Hat winner is “hardest working” player on the team and, on this day, the coaching staff identified that individual as Jonathyn Oland-Simon who was literally a game time decision. Jonathyn missed a prior practice (a rarity for him!) and three days of school that week due to the flu. Not only did he play, but he was a real difference maker on the ice throughout! We thank you Jonathyn for your supreme TEAM commitment to gut it out physically, and lead your team to what might have been the most significant victory of the season thus far!