Penalty kill helps Golden Hawks past Fergus Devils

November 5, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
The Junior C Caledon Golden Hawks faced two similarly-ranked teams last week, with a chance to either jump or fall in the GMOHL standings.
They ended up splitting the two games.
The first outing of the week was a rare Friday home game, taking on the Fergus Devils.
Veteran Steven Klomp picked up his second goal of the season just six minutes into the game, shortly after an effective penalty kill led by goaltender James Cyfko. The Hawks led 1–0 heading into the dressing room.
Despite earning the first five penalties of the game, it was the Hawks defence that continued to shine in the second, holding Fergus to just eight shots in the period.
A goal by Adam Breen off assists from Chris Smith and James Pitsadiotis doubled Caledon’s lead by the end of the second.
Down by two with only 20 minutes left to play, the Devils began to press. They got their opportunity almost immediately when defenceman Jake Mottershaw went to the box after cross-checking a Devil’s player behind the Caledon net.
But the special teams continued to click, as the Hawks’ penalty killers played an effective box in their zone to keep the puck and Devil players to the outside.
The penalty kill once again went to work a few minutes later, where they seemed to play their best hockey of the night. Steve Zeppieri was a force on the kill, winning a couple different puck battles to actually keep it in the Fergus zone.
In the same penalty kill, Nicholas McNutt had a great shorthanded opportunity, winning the race to the puck on a dump-out and cutting to the middle past a defenceman for a semi-breakaway. He was stopped on a nice pad save by the Fergus goaltender.
Now even strength, Derek Czech gave the home team some insurance with less than seven minutes to play as he walked in alone from the top of the slot, moved across the net to wait out the goaltender, and slipped it home from an almost impossible angle.
However, the Hawks penalty troubles weren’t over yet. With less than six minutes to play, Adam Breen was booked on both a high-sticking minor and a cross-checking major, meaning the Hawks would spend the remainder of the game shorthanded.
The shutout was broken on the extended powerplay, but Caledon was able to fight off the entire five-minute major.
Czech buried an empty-netter to seal the win, a 4–1 victory for the Hawks.
Cyfko had a rare goalie point, earning an assist of the empty-net goal. He was perhaps the star of the game, as the Hawks were outshot 22–8 in the third period.
The team then headed north the next night to face the Orillia Terriers, a team they had somehow yet to see this season.
It was a tight race from the start, with both sides shooting from all angles, but unable to solve Hawk’s goaltender Sam Procopio or Terrier Gordie Weiss.
Mottershaw scored his second goal in as many nights midway through the second, quickly followed by another from Daniel Cafagna for a 2–0 Hawk lead after two periods.
Orillia came out strong in the third, scoring just less than a minute in, and adding another to send the game to overtime.
Orillia’s Jason Binnie completed the comeback in the extra frame, as the Hawks fell 3–2 in OT.
With the three-point week, the Golden Hawks are now tied for fourth place in GMOHL standings with Huntsville. The teams will meet again Nov. 9.
Meanwhile, this week’s games consist of a rematch on the road with the Fergus Devils Friday, followed by a home game with the Stayner Siskins Sunday.
For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.juniorcgoldenhawks.pointstreaksites.com