After a rough start that took out one of their players, Athabasca Midget ‘A’ Hawks pulled up their socks and rallied to beat the Vegreville Wranglers 5-3 Jan. 12.
The Hawks trailed 3-0 in the first period of its home game against Vegreville, according to box score. After losing Ryan Tomuschat late in the same period after a collision that sent him to the hospital, the Hawks came together for the win.
Athabasca Midget Hawks head coach John Young said it was an impressive turn from his team.
“We had a lot of adversity at first there. The guys pulled together, and I’m really impressed,” Young said. “We got a couple of guys down, got to play for those guys. We wanted to make sure the efforts they put out tonight weren’t wasted. It was everybody focused, we had a plan and something clicked in them.”
The second-to-last place Hawks were up against the second-best team in the Northern Alberta Interlock Midget 1 Division. Vegreville came out to a 3-0 lead just 11 minutes into the first period.
Things took an even worse turn after a bad collision sent Athabasca’s Tomuschat to the hospital near the end of the first period, according to team manager Tina Biro.
“It was a pretty big collision in centre ice. It’s always scary when a player gets hurt,” Biro said.
The team stormed back in the second period, scoring three goals within seven minutes to tie it 3-3 by the time the game reached the halfway point, according to box score.
Two of those goals came off the game’s first star, right wing Donovon Stapley, who attributed the team’s turnaround to hard digging.
“Coaches and just digging deep, digging really deep and a lot of hard work,” Stapley said. “Not giving up on the battles in the corners.”
The Hawks would break the deadlock late in the third with a goal by Lucas Duncan, his second of the night, at just over four minutes remaining. Another goal by Jayden Anderson with 43 seconds left helped secure the game and halt any comeback attempt from Vegreville.
It was a game that showcased the team has the talent to win, Young said, adding he had been saying it all year.
“These guys have the talent, they have the skill, they have the heart now,” Young said. “There was a lot of heart that they showed today and maybe now they’ll believe it.”
The team followed up its performance by going undefeated over the weekend, winning 5-3 on the road against Sturgeon Midgets and getting a 1-1 draw in Drayton Valley Jan. 14, according to Biro.
The Hawks will have to play for some time without Tomuschat. Biro said he has concussion, and there is not yet a timeline for a return.
“Going to give him some time to heal and we’ll see when he’ll be ready to come back,” Biro said. “We can’t wait until Ryan feels better and is able to join us again.”
But despite the team's challenges, Young said it is capable of more surprises.
“I said this at the start of the year – these guys are going to surprise some people,” Young said. “I didn’t expect it to take half the season, but they’re coming around.”
