Big Pucks come up huge in win

DUBLIN, OH - Game two of Friday's double header was a rematch of last session's championship game. Same result, unfortunately. It was close early, but the Big Pucks did their thing and wore the Hawks down, eventually winning 5-3.

"They have no weak skaters," said top line RW Jason Torsok. Jay had a terrific goal, slamming home a rebound that bounced from the Puck's goalie's glove. "I got lucky. But, I'll take it."

Torsok has missed the past few games training for the national hot dog eating contest. "At least, that's what we've been told," said Chris Carpenter with a snicker. Sources haven't confirmed the report, but if it is true, Torsok will have competition.

"I love hot dogs," said Kevin Griffith. "I can take him."

Griffith added a terrific goal of his own in the second game. He grabbed the puck at the Puck's blue line, skated between three skaters with the puck at his feet and slid one past the Puck's goalie. It was the first goal of the game and looked to give the Hawks a needed boost after a slow start.

"Carp forgot his banana in the locker room and we needed to go back and get it," said defenseman Terry Walker, back from his conditioning assignment with the Junior B Hawks. "Those guys are cool, but it's great to be back with the big club. I missed Mac. He's so tall and his moonwalk is second to none."

Some guy named Michael subbed for the Hawks on the night. He and Joe Factor filled in for Mike Gauthier and Mac Lawless who refused to leave the locker room until they finished their game of war. They were both healthy scratches, so they drank all the GM's Grey Goose. Bastards.

Speaking of which, those Big Pucks have some great players.

"They've got our number," said defenseman Nick Lanctot, the best skater on the ice all night. "It's like a team full of Nate Mensel's, without the competition road bike." he added. The Pucks have defeated the Hawks in their last three games. If they meet again, it'll be in the playoffs.

"We'd settle with one at this point," admitted championship motorcycle racer (no shit the guy is nuts) John My Bike is Faster than yours Kenyon. Next up? The Whalers.

Freakin Eskimos!

Another one bites the dust

Cue the music DEVO fans. The latest Hawk to be ruled out of Friday's showdown with the Eskimos is top 2 defensman Nate Mensel. Mensel has been skating with the forwards this session and has been a difference maker when on the ice. Problem is, he hasn't been on the ice enough. That's the case for most the team. So far, Hawk starters have missed a combined 15 games between them. Offensive production is down, GAA average is way up and nobody has bought the GM a beer at the bar in weeks. All told, the session has been riddled with disappointment.

"Nate got a new iPad and rumor has it he's locked himself in the mancave, refusing to share," said Kevin Griffith on the condition of anonymity. "His kids haven't seen him in days. He sits and giggles behind the door, playing all his new free apps and drawing pictures with a crayon program. It's cool. He let me see it for a second before slamming the door in my face."

Fan favorites John 'Grand' Kenyon and Oleg 'My Sauna is better than yours' Chetverikov will have to carry the load friday against the league's most potent goal scorers.

"I'm going to be their worst nightmare," said Kenyon confidently. "#66 is coming for you."

Hawks blank CS Bank, 5-0

The Arrowhawks evened their record to 1-1 in the division with a solid win over the pesky CS Bank club Friday, 5-0. The Hawks opened strong, scoring 4 goals in the final 7 minutes of the opening period and never looked back. Jason Torsok notched 2 goals with assists from linemates Mark Monahan and Tom Morgan. Morgan also had a goal, as did Kevin Griffith and Barry Snow. Monahan continued his offensive touch, dangling with the puck and setting up snipers all night. Jason Jensen pitched the shutout and the defenseman played strong in the win. Terry Walker returned to the lineup and skated without vomiting, which is always a plus. Nick Lanctot and Mac Lawless also joined the fray, continually clearing traffic in front while bringing a solid transition game to the offensive attack. John Kenyon and Oleg Chetverikov worked their magic in the offensive zone, throwing the puck in deep and digging it out all night.

The win was hopefully the first of many in the team's new red Team Canada 2006 sweater.

The Bryce effect

12 points in 4 games, no PIMs, 1 game winner and a power-play goal. You don't have to be a hockey genius to figure out those stats are really darn good. Arrowhawk opponents have figured out first hand just how focused Bryce Griffith is this session. Some say it's because he's finally gotten married and feels complete. Others believe it's the fact that his Rogaine treatments are finally taking hold. Regardless of the reason, the outcome benefits Hawk fans everywhere.

"Bryce is tearing it up this session," said brother and linemate, Kevin Griffith. "It's nice to see he's healthy, eating well and not afraid of success any longer."

Griffith's 3 point per game average is a gaudy one and leads the team by almost a full point. Naturally then, his brother's (the law firm line of Griffith, Griffith and Griffith) are 2nd and 3rd in the order with 9 and 7 points respectively.

"It's a beauty watching those knuckleheads dance and weave their way through traffic each night," said top business mind John Kenyon as he scarfed down a fried bologna sandwich. "If we could just solve Kevin's intestinal issues, we'd really have something." he added.

If you're not snowed in and are looking to catch the Hawks in action, attend Friday's game at the Worthington rink.

Hawks continue climb, win 2-0

Second line left wing Jason Torsok was a difference maker in the game with a goal and an assist.

LEWIS CENTER - The Arrowhawks continued their climb in the standings defeating the Mamas and Papas 2-0 Friday. The game was tight in both zones the entire way.

"They came to play tonight," said captain Mark Monahan. "They did a very good job clogging the passing lanes down low and not giving up rebounds." he added.

Jason Torsok started the scoring at 7:42 in the second period on a breakaway. He received a terrific pass from Chris Carpenter to break out of the zone and fired a low wrister past the Mamas netminder. The goal seemed to turn the momentum in the Hawks favor as they turned up the offensive pressure.

Bryan Griffith and Andrew Applehans played well in the game, dangling with the puck and setting up scoring chance after scoring chance. Rick Titus was a late call-up, taking the place of Oleg Chetverikov. Titus skated with short bursts of energy and was a force in the neutral zone, with his flashy red pants.

The Hawks second goal came with only 38 seconds left in the second period. Jason Torsok made a great play behind the Mamas net. Tom Morgan set up the play, stealing the puck and finding Torsok down low. Jason made a nice move and found Applehans open in front. "Andrew burried the shot off the one-timer," said Torsok. "He's got skill around the net."

There were few penalties in the game. Tom Morgan and Terry Walker were called for minor penalties but the Hawk penalty killers did their job both times.

Jason Jensen made several terrific saves in his patented athletic style. "There were some good opportunities for them to cash in on some rebounds but Jay made the plays he needed too," said offensive juggernaught John 'Grand' Kenyon. "He kept us in it early until we could get our legs under us."

Flu bug hits Hawks
Starting first line defenseman and prettiest guy on the team (no offense Mac), Nate Mensel was stricken with the flu but played the game anyway.

"We could tell in the pre-game skate Nate was fighting it," said third line winger Chris 'I ran the marathon, too' Carpenter. "He had his usual dangling skills and great shot but he kept vomiting on the bench. We figured that was a sign to not sit too close."

Mensel was terrific on the night, working the puck in deep on the rush and setting up shot after shot.

"I'm gonna pay for it tomorrow," said Mensel. It was a courageous skate for the talented defenseman. "I knew we were down Mac and Joe was late getting on the ice while the equipment staff worked on his equipment." he said after the game.

"We didn't drink from his water bottle," said defenseman Terry Walker.

Hawks cash in on Discover

EASTON - The 1-3 Arrowhawks desperately needed a win in tonight's game against rival Discover. If they were going to get it, they'd have to win without several regulars including 2nd line right wing Jason Torsok and the league's best damn goalie Jason Jensen. 

Guess what? They won 3-2. 

I wasn't there but a little birdie told me...

... Andrew "White Horse" Applehans filled in nicely for Jensen. "The two goals he gave up weren't his fault," said the Arrowhawks twitter feed. "Barry fell on his ass and gave up a three-on-Andrew. He made the first six saves before finally giving up and just letting the puck in. He had to pee, reportedly." 

The action was furious on both ends of the blueline. At one point an exhausted Nate Mensel fell to the ice and crawled to the bench like a stranded adventurer lost in the sahara desert. "Water! Water!" Mensel cried. He eventually made it to the bench and was given enough water to make it out his next shift. "He's got a ton of intestinal fortitude," said Mark Monahan when asked about Mensel. "No way he was going to miss a shift just because he was crying on the ice." 

Minnesota Lanctot scored one official goal and one 'through the hole in the net' goal that didn't count. His first goal was a beauty. He snapped a wrister between his legs on the backhand while he was falling -- haven been cross-checked by the two biggest Discover players on the ice. The goalie never had a chance. He blinked and the puck was by him. There was that much power. The goal has been named "AEP" by the Hawks players. 

I forgot who had the other goals. I was thinking about beer while getting the report and wasn't able to focus. Oh, Mac had a sweet unassisted play. That's right. It's all coming back to me now. He started the scoring. He took the opening face off coast to coast and scored the fastest goal in Hawks history just 3 seconds into the game. (Really? No. But it sure sounds good!) He did score, though. We'll get one of those legal artists to draw a rendering since the official Arrowhawks photographer was drunk and in the slammer for the game. (No word on disciplinary action from management yet). 

That just leaves one goal. Nate must have had it. He's just too skilled to be shut down. Or Monahan. Maybe Carp. He's been skating like a computer-enhanced movie classic. Kenyon's been a fiesty SOB. No wait... has to be Kevin. Dude is flat good around the net. Bryan Griffith has a lot of skill but he just had a kid and is probably sluggish from all the lost sleep. 

Defensively the Hawks were incredible. Best game of the session. Mac Lawless lead the charge but Terry 'I aint had any in a week' Walker played with an edge for some reason. Barry and Gooch cleared the crease and thwarted every Discover player as they hoped for a shot. 

The final totals were staggering and tilted toward the Hawks. Final shots: Hawks 38, Discover 6. All 6 shots occurred in a matter of 6 seconds when Barry fell down over the blue line (again) and Gooch was busy signing autographs. Discover scored twice in the flurry. The Hawks don't remember taking a face off. 

"It's a great win," said a relieved Oleg Chetverikov after the game, through his interpreter. "That team has a lot of the skill and a lot of the ability to take the puck to the net and score a lot of the goals." he added. "We did the good job to take the puck away from the stick of the team so the goals go away." 

"Discover is a good team and it was a good win," said John Kenyon who didn't fall once over the boards. "We missed Jensen and Torsok tonight but we got over it pretty quick," he continued. 

The win takes the Hawks to 2-3 in the division, good enough for something like 5th place or so. 

Panthers ground Hawks

In case you missed it, the Hawks fell to the Panthers Friday 2-1, despite many chances. The loss moves the Hawks to 0-2 on the session and in last place in the division. Man, they suck. Not as much as the Arrowhawks blog editorial staff, however. Recently, the entire staff of this here site got lost while hiking in the hills of southeastern Ohio. Good thing we watch Man Versus Wild and new how to catch wild game to stay alive. No worries, we're back in the fold for more solid Arrowhawk Hockey reporting.

Although we were away, we received a report from one of the Arrowhawk players.

"Tough game... another game where we had at least a dozen solid scoring chances. The Panthers scored on their 1st 2 shots (9:20 left & 7:13 left of the 1st), the 2nd one from a sharp angle along the boards that was a PPG. We scored 1st, to go up 1-0, at with 10:04 left in the first...I intercepted a pass at our blueline and pushed up to Joe Factor who brought it in and gave it to Oleg in the slot and he burried it just inside the post on the far side. Nick, Mac, Bryan, Nate and I all had several chances but nothing...Kenyon did a good job getting open in the 3rd and was denied from the slot. After the 1st 2 goals Jensen played awesome. It's clear that their goalie has confidence againt us even after getting pegged twice in the face..."