The Grudge Match - January 4, 2014 - by Jeff Shaw

The Hawks traveled to Chipman on January 4th for a much anticipated league game against the Grand Lake Wild.  After narrowly eliminating Grand Lake 4-3 at the Tri-County Tournament semi-final the Hawks knew they were in for a tough contest.   Who had more practice over the Christmas break? Had they figured out our team and determined how to shut us down?  The tension was in the air as our Hawks entered the arena.  A quick warm up run ahead of the game seemed to settle everyone’s nerves, now it was game time!

Both teams hit the ice with determination, a scoreless first period attested to the effort of both team’s defense and goaltending as any chances or breaks were turned aside.  With some strong words of encouragement from Coach MacPhee the team hit the ice in period 2 with even more determination.  This would be the new mantra for the team “Determination!” and it was really starting to stick. The second period seemed like a replay of the first period with neither team giving ground as the period wound down and remained scoreless.  Then, with only a few minutes left in period two Ramin dug the puck out of the corner to Keaton. A smart drop pass and a hard shot from Duncan Christie broke the ice and the first goal was on the books.  The excitement erupted on the bench…boys keep your head in the game, we need to play this like we are losing!

Half of period 3 flew by with the Hawks turning back the fierce onslaught of the Grand Lake Wild. They had gone wild indeed, we needed another goal and strong defense to get through this.  With 10 minutes left in the game, a quick shot from the blue line by Keaton MacPhee gave the Hawks an unexpected goal and a 2-0 lead.  Was it over, would Grand Lake give up and concede defeat?  No way!  3 minutes later Owen Carrier put the Wild back in the game with their first goal.  With 7 minutes left, the Wild threw everything at the Hawks to try and score again. Time after time they were turned back in frustration as the Hawks pulled out all remaining energy to defend the lead and win the game!  Strong defense, good goaltending and DETERMINATION moves the Hawks up in the league standings to third place, just one point behind Grand Lake who lost not only the game, but also the distinction of being undefeated in league play to that point in the season!






While there were standout performance from MANY of the Hawks on this day, the incontrovertible Hard Hat winner was Justin Chonkite who was absolutely OUTSTANDING, and the major difference maker in this hard fought contest.