Stagnant Golden Hawks fall apart in third in loss to Otters

December 14, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
With only three games on the schedule over the last three weeks, the Junior C Caledon Golden Hawks have hit an offensive lull.
After scraping together two goals in a loss in Huntsville last Sunday, the Otters were in Caledon this week after disposing of the Erin Shamrocks the night before.
An exchange of penalties early on was not met with any significant scoring chances, until the Hawks went back on the man-advantage late in the first period.
Nicholas McNutt went on a slick end-to-ender, eventually stopped by the pads of the Otter goaltender.
It lit a spark under the home team that was capitalized on less than a minute later on a similar play by Derek Czech.
Midway through the second, a hard hit against the boards by Ryan Mouser put the Hawks on the penalty kill for the second time in the game.
Goaltender Sam Procopio helped out his offence with a nice point-blank save with his shoulder on a wide-open chance on the kill.
Daniel Cafagna was sent to the box shortly after for tripping, giving the Otters a five-on-three advantage.
However, some good shot-blocking and a Hasek-esque stop by Procopio sprawled on his back kept the Hawks up by one.
The lead was almost doubled on a late powerplay in the period, when Jake Mottershaw’s shot from the point deflected off a man in front and rang off the crossbar.
Team discipline fell apart early in the third, as just a minute in, the Otters were given a two-man advantage.
Josh Zantingh tied the game at the tail end of the powerplay.
At the six-minute mark, the Otters scored again to have the Hawks chasing for the first time in the game.
A late roughing call against Caledon left them with little chance of a comeback, ending the game in a 2-1 loss.
Procopio had a strong outing, stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced.
Perhaps the hardest-hit statistic over the current two-game losing streak has been the special teams, as the Hawks have gone 1–17 on the powerplay.
The single loss doesn’t make much of an impact in the standings, other than hurt the Hawks’ home record, which is an impressive 8-4-1 on the year.
Two games are on tap for this week, beginning with a road game in Stayner to face the streaking Siskins. They’ve won 11 of their last 12 to jump to second place in the GMOHL.
The Hawks will then be looking to pad that home record at Caledon East Arena Sunday, taking on the last place Midland Flyers.
For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.juniorcgoldenhawks.pointstreaksites.com