The Athabasca Hawks snapped their two-game skid with a Saturday-night 5-3 over the Camrose Cougars.
The boys ended the game in good fashion, overcoming some adversity with a short bench. Their strong puck possession and physical play helped them come back from a 3-2 deficit as they netted three goals in the last 10 minutes.
“They weren’t dirty by any means, but they wanted to finish their checks,” said Hawks head coach, Ron Bay. “The kids don’t shy away from that stuff. It’s all part of the game. (The Cougars) weren’t overly big, but they did have numbers with three full lines. They should have been able to skate us into the ground if they wanted to. But, they were fairly laid back.
“We had good (puck) possession and as long as you’re possessing the puck then you’re doing OK. We probably should have had a few more goals as we missed a couple. At least the guys came back and finished it in the third.”
The Hawks had a good opening period and scored within the first five minutes of the game on a point shot from defenceman Connor Nikipelo. They’re second would come 10 minutes later from another point shot by Adam Calliou that gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead. The Cougars however began to take more control of the play getting one goal late in the period to make it 2-1.
The Cougars didn’t seem to let up in the second period. Even though the Hawks were able to keep up their physical play and puck possession, the Cougars out hit the Hawks and took a 3-2 lead at the end of the second.
“We thought they deserved better earlier on, but they weren’t going to the net like they had to,” said Bay. “The puck possession didn’t seem to result in chances that we should have got. We’d control the play, but couldn’t get shots. We’d control the play, then get a penalty. (We) weren’t getting shots on net or to the net. But, finally in the third, there were two goals from shots to the net, then putting in the rebound.”
Though they weren’t the prettiest goals they had seen, that didn’t stop Shaun Funk from celebrating after he scored the tying goal on a powerplay and the eventual game wining goal five minutes later. The Hawks would seal the deal in the final minute after Jager Bruce put one in on the empty from center ice making the final tally 5-3.
The Hawks have just one more game on Dec. 18 in Strathcona before their two week Christmas break. With four players injured, Bay is hoping that he can have a few more return to the lineup.
“It’s a nice time to have those couple weeks,” he said. “If we’re lucky we’ll have everybody back after Christmas.”
