Klomp’s hat trick leads Golden Hawks past Midland Flyers

January 9, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
In a busy pre-Christmas schedule, the Junior C Caledon Golden Hawks began a back-to-back-to-back weekend in Fergus to face the Devils.
In what turned out to be a goaltenders’ battle, Hawk goalie Sam Procopio kept the home team scoreless until midway through the second despite already facing more than 20 shots.
At the other end of the ice, the Hawks solved the Devils’ goaltender twice before the second buzzer, on goals from Christian Mariconda and Michael Andrews.
Procopio stood on his head in the third period, with the Hawks having an edge in shots to the tune of 19-5 in the frame, allowing one goal to send the game to overtime.
In extra time, Steven Klomp made a solo effort to lead the Hawks to a 3–2 victory.
The Hawks were in Midland to visit the Flyers the next evening. Despite sitting in the basement of league standings, the Flyers had had Caledon’s number all season, defeating them in all three matchups so far.
The situation looked dire very early on, as Procopio showed some fatigue by allowing a goal just nine seconds in on the first shot of the game.
The Flyers would add two more in the period, countered once again by goals from Mariconda and Andrews for a 3-2 Midland lead after one.
However, the Hawks took complete control of the game in the second, chasing goaltender Jake Norton from the net after netting five unanswered goals. Procopio stopped all 14 shots he faced in the in the period.
The momentum was still in Caledon’s end of the rink in the final frame, as Klomp picked up his second goal of the game just three minutes in.
Sent on for the powerplay and looking for the magic number of three, Klomp capitalized on the hat trick with 10 minutes left off a pass from Daniel Cafagna.
The offensive onslaught was a nice break for a team with the second lowest goals-for in the league, ahead of only the Orillia Terriers.
James Cyfko was between the pipes Sunday to host the Alliston Hornets, who have dominated the GMOHL this season on way to a 25-3-1 record.
Alliston took control of the game right from the get-go, scoring three unanswered goals in the first for a lead they would never relinquish.
Klomp and Mariconda both had tallies in the second period to try to mount a comeback, but it would fall short when the Hornets notched their third powerplay goal of the game early in the third, en route to a 4-3 win.
With nary a holiday break, the Golden Hawks are back in action facing the Erin Shamrocks Saturday, before hosting the Penetang Kings at Caledon East Sunday.
A recent skid from the Kings has the Hawks only seven points back of last year’s league champions in the GMOHL standings.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.juniorcgoldenhawks.pointstreaksites.com

Midland’s Steven Pickard whiffs on a shot in front of Caledon goaltender Sam Procopio. The Hawks defeated the Flyers 9 – 4 last Saturday.
Photo by Jake Courtepatte