Minor bantam AA Hawks drop overtime heartbreaker in OMHAs

March 10, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
An impressive season fell short of provincial glory for the minor bantam AA Caledon Hawks, in an OMHA semifinal series that came down to just one goal.
After breezing through their Tri-County grouping as well as a quarter-final match up with the Grimsby Kings, the Hawks took a two-game lead in their first-to-six-points series with the Centre Wellington Fusion, needing only one more win to punch their ticket to the finals.
It wouldn’t be so easy. A 5-2 loss for the Hawks in Caledon East last week, as well as a tie and another loss over the weekend, set up a winner-take-all Game 6 on the road.
A crowd of hundreds packed the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex in Fergus to the rafters for Monday’s sixth and deciding game, of which the winner would move on to the provincial championship.
The Hawks got on the board first with the game’s first good chance, a Matthew Zanelli one-timer from the top of the crease five minutes in. Centre Wellington tied the game before the end of the period with a wrist shot that just squeaked past Matthew Milkovich.
Zanelli added his second of the game just two minutes into the second, picking the puck up in the slot and turning to fire it home. Milkovich made a nice stabbing poke check in the middle period as well, on a two-on-one play to preserve the lead.
It was a mistimed line change that undid them midway through the third, allowing two Fusion players to walk in uncontested and tie the game.
Caledon almost put the game away in the final 10 seconds of regulation, scrambling in front of the CW net, but came up empty and took the game to overtime.
Despite providing most of the pressure, the Hawks fell short when the Fusion fired a wrist shot past Milkovich three minutes into extra time.
Centre Wellington moves on to face the Barrie Colts in the final, who have been on the losing end only once this postseason.
The minor atom AA, minor atom AE, and midget AE Hawks have all advanced to their respective OMHA finals, with the championship series’ set to kick off next week.
For schedules, visit www.caledonminorhockey.com

Matthew Zanelli gets knocked down in front of the Centre Wellington crease in Fergus Monday night. The Hawks fell to the Fusion in overtime of the deciding game of the OMHA semifinals.
Photo by Jake Courtepatte