Golden Hawks land Siskins in first round of GMOHL playoffs

February 4, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
If the Caledon Golden Hawks want to get out of the first round of the Georgian Mid-Ontario Hockey League playoffs unscathed for the first time in team history, it’s going to be through the Stayner Siskins.
The Hawks drew the Siskins in the quarter-finals of the junior C league after going 0-1-1 in the final week of regular season play, landing in fifth spot with a record of 17-20-3. Stayner, meanwhile, will enjoy home ice advantage in the seven-game series after finishing in fourth place with an 18-17-5 record.
Caledon rides a bit of a slump into the postseason, going without a win in two weeks. On a positive note, however, they played the Alliston Hornets to a 2-2 tie on the road Friday; quite a feat considering the dominating performance of the Hornets this year.
All four goals in the game were scored in the first period, with Kevin Pleasance and Ryan Mouser scoring for the Hawks. Sam Procopio was lights-out in net, stopping 34 of the 36 Alliston shots he faced.
The Hawks actually attacked the Alliston net with 45 shots of their own; one of the very few times all season the Hornets have been outshot.
Though they ended the regular season with a 7-2 loss at home Sunday to the Penetang Kings, the Hawks have to be commended for the turnaround season they’ve experienced. They went 17-3-3 after a horrendous start, putting up a season-high five game winning streak in November.
They had a chance to vault as high as second place in the standings in the final month of play, but landing in fifth may turn out to be a blessing in disguise: the season series between the two teams ended 3-1-1 in favour of the Hawks, with Stayner’s only victory coming in late September.
It’s a key opportunity for the Hawks to finally see semifinal action, having been knocked out in the quarter-final round in