Golden Hawks season over following tough playoff loss to Penetang

Written By ROBERT BELARDI

The Caledon Golden Hawks 2019/20 season is over after the hometown team was swept by the Penetang Kings in the first round of the PJHL Carruthers division playoffs.

A pair of 4-1 victories for the Kings this past week was enough to see the Hawks off. The Caledon-based team enjoyed a moderately successful season this year. 

On Valentine's Day night, the Golden Hawks travelled almost two hours up north to Penetanguishene, to take on the Kings, absolutely desperate for a win. 

Despite outshooting the Kings by the end of the game, the story in the first period was being outshot 15-9. 

Just three minutes into the game, Kings forward Andrew Snowden opened the scoring. Kylar Watson added another on the powerplay and the Golden Hawks, were in a familiar position in this series. 

Once again, they played from behind, chasing the hockey game. Keegan Hoover in the second period, scored the lone powerplay goal for the Hawks. Near the end of the period with just over a minute left, Watson scored his second goal of the game to eliminate any hope of a comeback. 

In the third period, the golden Hawks were gifted six powerplay opportunities with nothing to show for it. The boys could not seem to break down Daniel Botelho in goal, who was a brick wall. 

The Kings however, showed the Golden Hawks how to score on the power play, as Brandon Bressette put the puck into the net right at the beginning of the period to cap off the victory. 

Returning to home ice this past Sunday, was a good chance for the Golden Hawks to show spirit. The chances of winning, are slim to none. 

In the National Hockey League, only four teams in the league's history, have won the series losing three game to none. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1942 finals against the Detroit Red Wings, The New York Islanders against Pittsburgh in 1975, the Philadelphia Flyers against the Boston Bruins in 2010 and the Los Angeles Kings against the San Jose Sharks in 2014. 

The Golden Hawks stepped out on to the ice with only 70 recorded in attendance. 

Each team in the first period, scored on every shot they took. 

The Kings scored two goals in the first minute. Braedon Dorion and Garrett Watson both scored their first goals of the playoffs at the most opportune time. 

At the 15:33 mark in the first period, the Golden Hawks scored on their first shot. Deaglan Small, who the Golden Hawks have leaned on the past few games, scored his third goal of the series unassisted. 

With no scoring in the second period, and the Golden Hawks outshooting the Kings 14 to 12, it came down to a nailbiting third period, that saw the Kings squeak two goals past Aidan Spooner to seal the game. 

Brandon Bressette and Andrew Snowden put this one out of reach, despite the kings and the Golden Hawks fighting head to head with both team reaching the 20-shot threshold in the final frame. 

The Golden Hawks leave the ice this season with a 17-22 record on the year, a slight dip in the record books in comparison to last year, when the Golden Hawks finished third in the division with a 24-15 record.