Dave Cartwright Cup Game 2 – Hawks In Fight Of Their Lives With Eagles - January 31st, 2014

After a few hours of rest and a good meal, the Hawks were back in action for game two of the Dave Cartwright tournament against the Oromocto Golden Eagles. In the only previous meeting between the two teams, back on November 30^th, the Hawks squeaked out a hard fought 5-3 victory. The Hawks were missing their big point man, Austin Mills, who was struggling to shake off the respiratory flu; leaving the Hawks with only three active defensemen.

From the moment the puck dropped to open the first period, it was clear that Oromocto, and in particular their netminder Alexander Holleran, had come to play! The Hawks had several great chances in the first period. Captain Will Shaw came free from the Oromocto Defense, and drove in on the Oromocto net with a nice move to the right, but was thwarted by Holleran’s left pad. Shortly thereafter, Will found himself on a sharp angle, but managed to get away a tremendous shot that rang of the right post. Not to be outdone, Justin Chronkite, picking up where he left off after game one of the tournament, played extremely sound technique in the Hawks net, and confidently turned away every shot he faced. At the end of the 1^st period, the score remained deadlocked at 0.

The second period produced the scariest moment of the tournament thus far when Oromocto’s Dawson Gale came out of his zone with the puck and a full head of steam. Duncan Christine was back to defend, and forced his man to the left side of the ice, but Dawson still managed to fire off a high hard shot that rang of the left post, and bounced across the Hawks crease and right on the stick of Oromocto’s Kyle Matheson. Kyle sent the puck towards the open net, but Justin and Duncan got over to cover the gap before the puck found its way to the back of the net! Then, Duncan managed two great breakaway chances of his own. Holleran denied him on the first attempt with another incredible save, and Duncan sailed the puck just over the top of the crossbar on his second. So close Duncan!

Fans and coaches were both on the edge of their seats heading into the 3^rd period of this tightly contested affair; neither team giving an inch. Then, with just over 7-minutes to go, Will Shaw picked up a puck in the neutral zone and broke free in on Holleran. This time, Will faked right, and tried to tuck the puck in the left side of the net, but again Holleran was up to the task; shooting that right pad out to keep the game scoreless. Oromocto came right back on the Hawks. Owen Cull fired a shot from top of the left circle that was labeled for the right corner of the Hawks net, and Justin Chronkite, quick as a cat, slid across to get a piece of it with his right pad, sending it to the right corner…

but that was not the end of the danger, as the puck was quickly slid across the Hawks net to a wide open Oromocto player who looked to have a tap in goal. Justin, however, had other ideas, and showed tremendous athleticism to slide across and block the shot with his goal stick!

What a play Justin! Then, with just over three minutes to play, hearts stopped all through the rink as Oromocto’s Dawson Gale came free from a scramble at the Oromocto blue line and walked right in on Justin Chronkite. Once again, Justin was ready, and turned aside the chance. With just over 1-minute left to play in the game, the Hawks take a time out to talk things over, making sure everyone understood the importance of this key second tournament game, and buying just a little extra rest for those weary legs for one last push. It worked!!! The Hawks immediately came out on the attack and put Oromocto on their heels, hemming them completely in their zone. Chance after chance went by the board until, finally, Will Shaw found himself the recipient of a rebound that he tucked into the open right side of the Oromocto goal with a mere 24.8 seconds to play! The Hawks bench and fans erupted in pure jubilation, and the team would hang on to start 2-0 in the tournament, and set themselves up for a real healthy chance at making the semi-finals on Sunday! Click here for game video highlight reel.

While there were many standout performances, the MVP went to Justin Chronkite for staying sharp, and making key save after key save in this contest! Lest we forget, he has now earned back to back tournament shutout performances…outstanding Justin! The Hard Hat went to Will Shaw for his clutch dying seconds goal to seal the victory.