Michael McDonald Rocks Columbus

COLUMBUS, OH - The Arrowhawks represented tonight at the official grand-opening of the Columbus Commons celebration featuring Grammy-Award winning Michael McDonald. It was the culmination of the fall session's championship, where McDonald's music inspired the Hawks to skate like they could actually play hockey. Arrowhawk captain Mark Monahan, RW Jason Torsok and Minnesota native Nick Lanctot were in attendance to cheer like fruits. No word if the sultry baritone will help the Hawks on the ice tomorrow as they take on the resurgent CS Bankers.

Torsok out

First line right wing Jason Torsok will be scratched for tonight's game against the Maple Leafs. Torsok has a lower body injury and will watch the game from the press box.

The team has called up Andrew 'Firenuts' Applehans to replace the rugged goal scorer.

"Andrew's been chomping at the bit and we think he'll be ready to go tonight," said Tom Morgan. "If not, we'll send him to the locker room after the first period."

Dropping like a Minnesota fly

Murphy's Law is in full effect, boys. As if losing their captain wasn't hard enough, causing the whole team to cry at center ice after practice today, the Hawks will now have to face the Freakin' Eskimos without star defenseman Nick 'Minnesota' Lanctot. [is that a giant run-on sentence or what?]

"He's got a hard shot, but that's about it," said a disappointed Rick Titus. "He'd make a good candidate for The Apprentice but he'd probably sucker punch a washed-up actor, make fun of Donald's hair and get kicked off the show. You are FIRED NICK!"

No Lanctot isn't really fired. The Hawks couldn't replace his blazing speed, cannon shot or personable demeanor at the bar.

"We considered claiming Sheldon Souray off waivers, but Nick's much cooler," said Tom Morgan from his private plane. Morgan and linemate Jason Torsok are volunteering for a 3-day goal scoring clinic in Charlotte, NC. "We're legends in these parts," said Torsok humbly.

No word on minor league callups as of this post. Check back later for more information.

You be the judge

Bloggers are in a rage over Mac's listing as 6' 6" in the Arrowhawks media guide.

LEWIS CENTER, OH - Mac has some splainin' to do. Either he's shrunk just a teensy bit with every beer he's drank, or he never really was 6'6" like the 2010 media guide proclaimed he was - at least, according to this photo being circulated on the Arrowhawk blogs.

"Everyone knows those PR folk who develop the guide just wound up there because they failed journalism," said Jason Torsok. "I'm not saying our PR staff can't tell a story, but they seem to have a problem with measurements."

For the record, Mac never said he was 6' 6".

"I play like I am 12 feet tall," said Lawless after the Arrowhawks championship game loss. Mac missed the game but called in to be sure he'd be quoted. "You know those old trees in the pacific northwest? Well, I'm like that, only on skates with a bit of a stench."

At least he got one part right.

Hawks bomb bombers 9-1

GAHANNA, OH - The Hawks brought the big guns tonight. It was clear early that if the Bombers were going to make the contest a fair tilt it would require keeping the puck away from the Hawks skill players. Problem was, there were many players to keep the puck from.

For the first time in several sessions Bryan Griffith was on the ice to complete the top line of Griffith, Griffith and Griffith. His presence was felt by his brothers as they skated with more energy than they had in two previous sessions. It was like reuniting the Beatles for a battle of the bands at the local club -- no contest. The top line blitzed the Bombers defensive core time and time again, leading to many early (and late) scoring chances.

"We knew early we had our 'A' game tonight," said Jason Torsok. "We were not going to be beat unless their goalie stood on his head all night." he added.

All lines were on tonight for the Hawks. It was close through the first 10 minutes of play but the flood gates opened after Chris Carpenter burried a one-time deflection from a perfect Mac Lawless feed into a wide open net. The goal wound up being the game winner on a night full of Arrowhawk tilted ice.

We'll break down all the goal scorers later. Just know that the Hawks were a man among boys on this night. Goaltender Jason Jensen wasn't tested often but when he was, he was fabulous.

Hawks squeak by Big Pucks in opener

LEWIS CENTER, OH - The Arrowhawks opened the fall session with a win last Friday, defeating the Big Pucks 2-1 in a real squeaker of a game. The Arrowhawks fell behind early after a defensive zone breakdown led to a wide open Big Puck stationed right in front of netminder Jason Jensen.

"Jay didn't stand a chance on that one," said 1st line LW Tom Morgan after the game. "We just got caught with our head's up our you know what," he added with a frown.

One player managed to keep his head out of trouble. Goaltender Jason Jensen.

"Jay was our best player tonight, by far," said Jason Torsok. "He looked all fancy in net, sliding from post to post and stopping everything that came his way. This game could have easily gotten out of hand early but he kept us in it like he always does."

The first period was back and forth but mostly played in the Arrowhawks end. The Hawks were missing a few blue liners but generally did a good job clearing the zone. Jensen didn't give up many rebounds and was snappy with the glove.

There were few offensive chances for the Hawks until midway through the second period.

"We were a little rusty early and used the first period to get back in rhythm," said Bryce Griffith who started on the second line. Bryce sat out the Summer session after leading the Hawks in scoring in the fall. The Griffith line was a step off all night, with many passes just missing the mark.

The Arrowhawks first goal was scored by Mark Monahan on a brilliant deflection from Barry Snow.

"Barry's shot was perfect," said Monahan. "I just got good wood on it and it sailed over the goalie. It was my favorite goal I scored all year," said Monahan with a smirk. It was Mark's first goal of the session.

The game remained a goaltending clinic for the next 12 minutes of play. Both netminders were sharp, turning away shot after shot. That is, until Tom Morgan got open in the high slot.

Snap.

Just like that, Morgan put the Hawks up 2-1 with a laser shot, top-shelf. The Hawks swarmed Morgan. Somewhere, Scotty Bowman smiled. Long ago, Bowman would work with Morgan on his shot from the driveway of his swanky Detroit home. Feeling left out of the Red Wings success, Bowman took Morgan under his wing, flying him from his Long Island home on the weekends via Bowman's personal jet. Tom still raves about the wonderful service he received on the airliner and the fancy paper umbrellas served on the flight. "It's where I learned how to finish," said the soft spoken Morgan in his biography SNAP IT OFF: How to Finish in a world full of losers, years later.

The Hawks finished well, holding on 2-1.

"The Big Pucks are a good team," said Nate Mensel. "We were lucky tonight"

Arrowhawks Off To A Good Start

Third line winger John 'Grand' Kenyon collects himself after blowing a tire and crashing wildly into the boards in the defensive zone. Kenyon is one of the Hawks smarter players, at least on paper.

Lewis Center, OH – The winter session began with a bang as the Arrowhawks collided with Check Republic in front of a raucous crowd last night. The game was marred with several penalties yet the tempo was high.

"They may of had a short bench but they're hard to knock off the puck" said captain Mark Monahan during the post game press conference. In goal for the Arrowhawks was Jason Jensen, who spent the off season meditating in the mountains of Tibet. Jensen was tested early and often when the Hawks found themselves short handed just 2 minutes into the game. The PK unit killed off the penalty and Jensen was stellar.

Kevin Griffith lit the lamp with a wrister on the Power Play with 7:14 to go in the 1st, Griffith was set up by brother Bryce and the floodgates opened. Defenseman Mac Lawless followed 3 minutes later with a beautiful shot that knocked the water bottle off of the net and Bryce Griffith rounded out the 1st period scoring with 2:55 left.

The 1st period saw 5 goals as the Hawks led 3-2, "the 1st period was pretty chippy, there was a lot of clutching and grabbing out there" said Nick Lanctot.

Check Republic came out storming in the 2nd and tied the game on yet another power play just 1:12 into the 2nd..."The penalties were a bit out of hand, it seemed one sided at times" said Barry Snow.

The Hawks regained the lead for good when Jason Torsok forced a turnover in the Check Republic zone and Tom Morgan buried it 5 hole with 6:13 to go in the 2nd. "We needed that goal, we were slacking off in the neutral zone a bit" Monahan added. Defenseman Nate Mensel made sure the game was out of reach with nifty wrister early in the 3rd and Jason Torsok chipped one in with a minute to go to seal the win. "We could have had 12 goals tonight, our offense was humming" added Mac Lawless in between sips of beer.

Up next

The Arrowhawks will travel to Dublin next week to take on the Maple Leafs, "they always play us tough, we'll have to be on our toes and skate hard" said Jason Jensen. Should be a fun game...stay tuned.

Hawks battle to 5-3 win

DUBLIN, OH - The midpoint of the Arrowhawks season was on the line early in Friday's matchup with the talented Check Republic team. The Hawks fell behind early 2-0 only 4 minutes into the opening frame. The Check Republic forwards were buzzing like angry bees, firing shot after shot. Mac Lawless and Joe Factor were minus two before they even broke a sweat. Lines were a mess. Oleg Chetverikov, filling in for normal second line center Mark Monahan forgot to register with the official scorer. Third line right wing, Rick Titus forgot his stick by the locker room.

"We were a mess early," said the tallest defenseman on the team, Mac Lawless. "We were sleeping on the job."

Luckily for the Hawks, they found their groove.

Blog staff wasn't able to get a look at the official scoresheet so we have no idea when the goals were scored but eventually the game was tied 2-2 behind great goals from Mac Lawless and Kevin Griffith. Both players displayed solid skill in the offensive zone, besting the Check Republic netminder. Lawless had a gorgeous goal from the point, firing a stellar wrister high over the goalies glove.

"I thought I was going to get drilled in the head," said Griffith after the game. "Luckily, Mac knew what he was doing and hit the net, otherwise I would've been tagged." he said happily rubbing his chin.

Goaltender Jason Jensen did his thing, stopping key shots during the remaining play. He controlled the rebounds and kept the game close until the Hawks could find their stride.

"We stayed with it, despite missing some key offensive players," said 2nd line right wing Jason Torsok. "In all, everyone did their job and we were able to get the job done."

Bryan Griffith was excellent with the puck in both zones. Nate Mensel was moved back to defense for the game, a terrific pre-game move by Tom Morgan who set the lines. Barry Snow moved up to first line wing and fired some good shots in the game.

Bryan scored to make the game 3-2 late in the second period (we think), collecting a rebound in the low slot in traffic.

Jason Torsok put the nail in the coffin late in the third after Kevin Griffith made the game 4-3 with a terrific unassisted effort. The score was 5-3 with 2 minutes to play. Torsok's goal was a great positional effort, when Check Republic tried to clear the zone down low.

The win gives the Hawks an even 3-3 record heading into the final 6 games of the session.

Arrowhawks poised for cup run

Through 9 games the Hawks sit tied for first place with More Cowbell, with a game in-hand. It's true the Hawks scoring is down this session, but they've more than made up for it in other areas. How've they done it?

• The 2-time CAHL C2 champions are second in the league in goals allowed with 21, 1 behind the Bombers.
• The Hawks are +16 in goal differential
• The top 2 lines are the best looking lines in the CAHL, meaning chicks dig them which increased their testosterone naturally, reducing the need for PEDs. Yes, they are all married or soon to be, but still, chicks digging you never gets old.
• John Kenyon has found his role as a grinder and thug, without being too mean to cause the refs to hate him and fans to send hate mail. It's a perfect balance, really.
• Nick has stopped hugging guys on the ice and turned to a more aggressive style of play.
• Bill Miller has not yet skated one time for the Hawks, though he still possesses the quickest tongue in the organization.
• Jason Torsok has been cleaning up the trash in front regularly. He's a vital cog in the middle of the Hawks successful 2nd line combination of Monahan and Morgan, the leagues dynamice duo. (no word who is Batman and who is Robin)
• Mac Lawless' open-ice hits have become legendary. Opposing teams are staying away from the middle of the ice due to the physical play of the tall Buffalo Mexican native.
• Bryan Griffith's healthy return to the lineup has added stability to the top-line of Griffith, Griffith and Griffith. The Law Firm line can by heard debating current events while controlling the puck in the offensive zone.