The score didn’t reflect it, but the Athabasca Midget Hawks were dominate against the Strathcona Warriors on Dec. 18 out-shooting them 45-7 in a close 2-1 victory.
Having only 11 skaters due to injuries didn’t seem to slow the Hawks who controlled the game from start to finish.
“We pretty much kept it in their end,” said head coach Ron Bay. “The kids were able to forecheck and the defence would pinch to keep it in, but we couldn’t score.
“It each period. It was like a 15-2 mismatch on shots. That’s the way the possession was. They didn’t have the puck for long and they didn’t have any sustained pressure in our end.
“We had it in their end, but the goalie played butterfly. So, everything low was good, he had a good blocker and glove.”
The Hawks maintained total control of the first period and held the Warriors to only two shots. The only trouble the Hawks seemed to face was hitting the net.
“I was counting (our) shots and when I started counting they had 10 shots and missed the (net) on all 10 of them,” he said. “It wasn’t until late in the period before one of the (defence) hit the net.”
The scoreboard was blank going into the second period. After a too-many-men penalty was called against the Hawks, the Warriors were able to take advantage. They skated down the right wing and beat the glove hand of Hawks goaltender Scott Danyluk.
“We thought the goalie misplayed the puck,” said Bay. “Instead, the puck ended up going through the meshing because there was a hole in his glove.”
After more shots and great puck control, the Hawks were finally able to get one past Warriors goalie after Derek Greene took a no-look turnaround shot from the high slot to tie the game. With two minutes left in the period, the Hawks were able to get their second goal, again from the high slot, from Sean Greene to take a 2-1 lead.
Despite running into some penalty troubles, the Hawks were able to hold off the Warriors for the third period to score the one-goal win.
The club won’t playing again until Jan. 2 when they return home to face Drayton Valley, who sit with a 12-2 mark and are in first place of the Berube Division in the 1660 Hockey League.
“They’re a tough team,” said Bay. “They beat us pretty good when we went there last time so it’ll be a good game to start the year off.”
