Golden Hawks tested in Alliston Junior C event

September 13, 2013 · 0 Comments

Caledon Golden Hawk Daniel Cafanga was battling a Campbellford Rebel foe for the puck during the Alliston Hornets Junior C Tournament Saturday. The three-day tournament featured 16 Junior C clubs from around the province. The Golden Hawks will have their season home opener this Sunday at Caledon East arena.
Photo by Brian Lockhart

By Brian Lockhart
The Caledon Golden Hawks had their first test as a team for the 2013-14 season over the weekend when they took part in the annual Alliston Hornets pre-season Junior C Tournament at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre.
The Hawks had some good success, starting out with a 6-1 win over the Stayner Siskins in their first game of the tournament Saturday.
The next two games didn’t result on the plus side for Caledon when they came up short with a 3-2 loss to the Campbellford Rebels and a second 3-2 loss to the Uxbridge Bruins later in the day to eliminate them from the tournament.
Campbellford went on to win the weekend event with a 4-3 win over the Port Perry Mojacks to claim the tournament title.
The Hawks had a good season last year, ending with 40 points overall and a sixth place standing in the Georgian Mid Ontario Hockey League.
Head Coach Sandy McCarthy, who moved to the Caledon bench at the end of last season, said they are going to finalize the roster this week before the start of the new season.
“It’s good,” McCarthy said of working with the Golden Hawks. “It’s a work in progress. Today we were playing a little bit like the old Caledon team. We’ve got to keep it simple, that’s what my game plan is. We’ve got a few guys signed and seven or eight more to select from. We’ll finish up our roster after this tournament.”
After leading the Allison squad to a championship season last year, the goal for McCarthy now is to take the Caledon team to a new level.
“After watching that team (Caledon) over the last couple of years, they’ve improved immensely both years.” McCarthy said. “I think the Caledon Golden Hawks need discipline to win hockey games. They take penalties — they were leading the league in penalties, or in second, last year. That’s part of my game plan. And then it’s preparation for the game, that’s what I’m teaching. Drills are drills, either you get them or you don’t.”
As a coach, McCarthy is known for expecting discipline on the team, but at the same time he maintains a pretty cool head when he’s on the bench.
The Hawks first regular season test will come this coming Saturday (Sept. 14), when they travel to Erin to face the Shamrocks with a 7:30 p.m. start.
They will have their home opener at the Caledon East arena Sunday, when they host the Fergus Devils.
The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.