The
Eagles were home to face the Caledon Hawks on Sunday. Knowing a loss would most
likely mean the end of advancing in the OMHA playoffs, the pressure was on. But
it was the Eagles that pressured the puck all game long and came away with a
2-0 victory.
Everyone on the team played their part to perfection. The goalies secured a shutout under some high pressure moments with big saves and “never give up” scrambling in front of the net. The defence blocked shots, got in passing lanes, cleared the zone, and kept the puck in the offensive zone to keep the pressure on the Hawks. The forwards forechecked deep in the Hawks zone creating turnovers, back checked, and gave second and third efforts to win most of the puck battles. The centremen won most of the faceoffs which once again kept the Hawks on their heels. With all that said the game was still 0-0 going into the third period despite numerous scoring opportunities for the Eagles. Not until late in the third did Grady score to break the ice. He then followed that up with a great individual effort to chip the puck a couple of times past players and then deked out the goalie making it 2-0. The insurance goal was a nice cushion as the Eagles took a late penalty and the Hawks pulled their goalie to go 6 on 4. Jack A. remained sharp and the rest of the team bunkered down to preserve the shutout and win. It was a great game with packed stands and a definite playoff atmosphere. The two teams get to do it all over again next Saturday in another do or die situation in the rubber match.