From the Times: Cambridge still has a heartbeat
Cambridge still has a heartbeat Winter Hawks come back for 4-2 win to knot semifinal series Heart came to the party. After Cambridge Winter Hawks head coach Peter Crosby questioned his team’s collective ticker on Sunday, the squad showed their bench boss that there was something still beating in their chests.
Hawks win comeback thriller
Hawks win comeback thriller Annie Knight On a night where many thought the Winter Hawks would walk away frustrated, it turns out Cambridge would be the thorn in the pennant-winning Brantford Golden Eagles side.
From the Record: Winter Hawks tie series with Eagles
Winter Hawks tie series with Eagles CAMBRIDGE — The Cambridge Winter Hawks evened up their Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Mid-Western semifinal series against the Brantford Golden Eagles at two games each with a 4-2 comeback victory on Tuesday. The Cambridge rally was sparked by Brennon Pearce, who put up a hat trick, and Michael Christou, who tallied three assists.
From the Times: Injury-riddled Hawks need heart
Injury-riddled Hawks need heart Winter Hawks drop Game 3 to go down 2-1 in semifinals The Cambridge Winter Hawks need to play with heart and that might be the only thing that’s healthy about them right now. Upper body injuries, lower body injuries, every body’s injured. That’s the way this playoff round had gone for the Winter Hawks.
From the Record: Hawks and Eagles split weekend
Hawks and Eagles split weekend The Cambridge Winter Hawks were outgunned in Brantford Sunday night as the Golden Eagles flooded the net on their way to an 8-3 win. Brantford more than doubled the shots Cambridge was able to make on net and starting Hawks goaltender Brendan Gorecki was pulled early in the third period when the score reached 6-2. The decision gave Brantford a 2-1 lead in the Midwestern Conference semifinal series. The Hawks had more luck on Saturday, never losing the lead in a 5-2 win on home ice. Josh Timpano recorded a goal and three assists in the game and Gorecki turned away 38 shots. The Hawks meet the Eagles and hope to tie the series at two Tuesday night in Cambridge.
From the Record: Winter Hawks even series with Golden Eagles at one
Winter Hawks even series with Golden Eagles at one The Cambridge Winter Hawks took a scrappy 5-2 victory over the Brantford Golden Eagles in Game 2 of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Midwestern semi-finals to even the series at one. In a game alive with thunderous hits and awe-inspiring saves from both ends of the rink, it was Cambridge who prevailed with stellar performances from forward Josh Timpano and goaltender Brendan Gorecki. “(Brantford) are the Number 1 team in Ontario according to the record and points, so getting the win definitely boosts our confidence,” Cambridge head coach Peter Crosby said. “It’s a tie series now and the guys have confidence in that room now.” Gorecki was nearly unbeatable for the Winter Hawks, stopping 38 of the 40 shots that the Golden Eagles put toward him. “(Brantford) likes to take shots. Our defence did a good job blocking a lot of them, too, so a lot of credit to them,” Gorecki said. “I just tried to stop the puck and do whatever I could to help the team out. They helped me out tonight, so I helped them out.” Cody Gratton put the Winter Hawks on the board nine minutes into the game when a Timpano shot rebounded off Brantford net-minder Bryce O’Hagan and onto the stick of Gratton. Gratton finished off the play by firing the puck far side past O’Hagan to put Cambridge up 1-0. Halfway through the second period Brock Campbell took out Brantford enforcer Brett Appio with a stick to the head. Campbell received minors for slashing and cross-checking on the play, putting Brantford on the man advantage for four minutes. Mike Rebry knotted up the game on the ensuing power play when he tapped a rebound past Gorecki for his first goal of the series. With three minutes left in the second, Darcy Meyer blasted a slap shot from the circle past O’Hagan for his fifth goal of the playoffs and second point of the game to put Cambridge up 2-1. Gratton and Timpano also added their second points of the game with assists on the goal. The Winter Hawks added another late goal from Trevor Hache just over a minute later. With Appio in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct, Hache fired his first goal of the playoffs past O Hagan from Timpano and Ryan Clarke. Despite being outshot 31-20 through two periods, the Winter Hawks entered the third with a 3-1 lead. The third period opened with more animosity as Christian Barnard was taken hard into the boards by Jeff Swift. Swift received a cross checking minor on the play that gave the Winter Hawks a short two-man advantage. Timpano put the game out of reach when he snapped a rebound past O’Hagan on the five-on-three for his fourth point of the game. “It’s a team effort,” said Timpano, who played through a second period leg injury and is questionable for Game 3. “It’s do or die, if you go down by two it’s not a good feeling. We wanted to get the big W here and get all the guys going for the next game.” Mike Riley added a goal for Brantford halfway through the third, but their rally fell short as Gorecki stopped every shot to come. Brennon Pearce added a late goal from Clarke to seal the game for Cambridge at 5-2. Game 3 is 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Brantford. From Ryan McCracken at the Record. See the original article here.
From the Times: Hawks not discouraged by first loss
Hawks not discouraged by first loss Game could have gone either way: Gorecki Brantford – Brendan Gorecki’s assessment of Game 1: no big deal. The Cambridge Winter Hawks netminder turned aside 39 shots, but it wasn’t enough as the Brantford Golden Eagles took the first game of their best-of-seven Midwestern Conference semifinal series 3-2 last night at the Wayne Gretzky Centre.
Hawks solve Eagles, but miss the win
Hawks solve Eagles, but miss the win Annie Knight Although Cambridge lost game one, there are strong positives for the Winter Hawks to take away from this game. Game one saw rookie forward Cody Gratton pop the series’ first goal on the shorthand. His goal generation had been slighted in the Guelph series, scoring in the game one loss to Guelph, and recording the series winner in game 6, but otherwise remaining pretty quiet. Last night was Gratton’s night. He collected the two Winter Hawks goals, and had a serious bid for the hat trick with the intense third period push Cambridge put on Brantford. What the score sheet doesn’t collect however, is how well Cambridge adjusted to Brantford last night. Goals aside, compared to the previous three meetings between Cambridge and Brantford, the ability to read the play, trap the seams, and adjust to consistent around-the-crease attacks by Brantford was a huge positive. If the backdoor sweep is the go-to scoring play for Brantford, the Golden Eagles may be in trouble come game two. Seeing the sweep happening, Cambridge’s netminder Brendan Gorecki adjusted by consciously watching, and sliding across the crease on multiple occasions to kick out the pad on some very exciting toe saves. Once or twice, he also managed to get his blocker on the cheddar attempts. Defenders took notice, with Hache taking the lead on parking himself in the slot and taking away that cross ice pass. Cambridge defenders got burnt by the high scoring, wheeling defender that is Brandon Montour, who took a tour around the net before skating out in front, into traffic, and whether it came from his stick, or another Eagle stick, or a deflection off of a Cambridge player, managed to beat a sprawling Gorecki. Lesson learned, as minutes later Brantford tried the same trick, but was picked off behind the net before the puck could be dumped out front. Like game one in the Guelph vs. Cambridge series, it appeared as though the Winter Hawks were feeling out their opponent. And sure enough, the Hawks found chinks in the pennant-winning Golden Eagles armour. The odd-man rush was Brantford’s downfall on both Cambridge goals. On the first goal, Gratton picked up the loose puck inside the Cambridge blue line, and in a foot race against one Eagle, with another trailing just behind, outskated his defender, half-snapped and beat Brantford’s goaltender high-glove-side. On the second goal, Gratton did much of the same. On another odd man rush, with a closing seam on the across ice pass opportunity, Gratton took the snap again, beating the netminder. So what’s to say that Cambridge doesn’t exploit this fault in game two? More so, video review for the coaches and players today should help find improvements from game one, as soft passes, and lack of mental toughness early could have changed the face of the game. Given what the Winter Hawks appeared to learn as game one pressed on, game two should be a different story. Then saddle in the intensity and drive the Winter Hawks showed in the third, and we’re talking about an entirely different looking series. Key notes: Cambridge has yet to solve Brantford on the Golden Eagles’ home ice. To win the series, Cambridge will have to find a way to win at the Wayne Gretzky Centre at least once. Annie Knight is a member of the Cambridge Winter Hawks organization. Opinions shared in posts, comments and on social media platforms are those of the individual, and not the views of the organization as a whole.
From Brant News: Golden Eagles hold off Winter Hawks
Golden Eagles hold off Winter Hawks Sean Allen BRANT NEWS The Brantford Golden Eagles withstood enormous pressure from the Cambridge Winter Hawks to secure a 3-2 victory and a 1-0 series lead on Thursday night at the Gretzky centre. Brantford and Cambridge are playing a best-of-seven series in the second round of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs. The Eagles had a 3-2 lead going into the third period and, although they outshot the Winter Hawks in the final frame, most of the action took place in Brantford’s end of the rink. Eleven of goaltender Bryce O’Hagan’s 26 saves came in the final frame to preserve the victory. The Winter Hawks were on the board first, when Cody Gratton broke loose shorthanded and Golden Eagles defenceman Dave Lazarus tripped, allowing Gratton to get in on O’Hagan all alone at 4:50 of the first period. But the Eagles responded on another power play, when a loose puck came to Tyler Norrie at the side of the net and he scored from one knee at 9:00 of the first. At 10:10 of the second period, Brandon Montour was allowed to waltz around the Winter Hawks zone untouched and eventually found Tyler Norrie at the side of the net. Norrie’s rebound went onto the stick of Mike Riley, who scored his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs. Gratton responded at 15:18 of the second to tie the game at 2-2. Montour scored what turned out to be the winning goal at 17:40 of the second period, burying the puck past Winter Hawks goalie Brendan Gorecki. Gorecki made 39 saves for the Hawks. Game 2 of the series is in Camrbidge on Saturday, Game 3 is back in Brantford at the Gretzky centre on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. and Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday in Cambridge.
From the Times: Brantford big test for Cambridge
Brantford big test for Cambridge Peter Crosby likens playing the Brantford Golden Eagles to starting the best round of golf in your life. “Four holes into your golf round your mind is going ‘oh my God, look how good I am’. Then you start thinking and it all falls apart. Brantford is the same way, you might think you have them, then boom, they beat you.”
