Eskimos freeze Hawks, win first championship

Hawks captain Mark Monahan's expression says it all on a night not meant to be in a 5-1 loss.

DUBLIN, OH - Fifteen weeks later the Hawks ended their session losing convincingly 5-1 to an energetic Eskimo squad. It was close early but the game was never in doubt. The Eskimos took care of business in both ends tonight, thwarting every chance by an undermatched Arrowhawk team.

"They were great tonight," said team captain Mark Monahan. "They did everything well tonight. Their defense smothered us offensively and defensively. Goaltending was great. We just didn't mount enough to make a difference," he added.

Special teams weren't much of an equation as the Eskimos handled the Hawks talented wingers in even strength. Nick Lanctot notched the Hawks only goal short-handed in the second period to make the score 3-1 Eskimos. After that, it was clear sailing for the yellow jerseys.

"Despite the loss tonight we had a great session," said left winger and leading point-getter in the playoffs Tom Morgan. "We're proud of where we ended up despite losing in the championship."

Mac Lawless, filling in for Freakin' Basso and Terry Walker, skater well but was minus three on the night.

"We didn't do our part clearing the puck in front tonight," admitted Lawless. "But we'll see them again in the fall," he said after the game.

John Kenyon played well in the losing effort. He skated well on both ends, breaking up several scoring chances.

"Jason didn't have much chance back there," Kenyon said dejectedly. "They brought the house every chance they had and we just didn't match their effort."

Andrew and Nick skated well, but not well enough. It was clear the Hawks would need to be perfect to win early in the game. The Eskimos have a talented team and proved it tonight.

"The victory was well deserved," said Chris Carpenter. "Our hats are off to them. They did well," he admitted.

Jason Jensen did his best working well from post to post. But the defense was slow to the puck, giving up many odd-man rushes on the night. "Normally we'd have several lines to roll defensively but we were a little short on the bench tonight," said Mike Gauthier. "We're disapointed but we'll be back in form this fall."

Tonight's loss was the fourth in Arrowhawk history, having appeared in nine of the last ten championship games.

"The Arrowhawks were gracious in defeat," said Eric Ott of the Eskimos. "They are a great team and we're proud to have finally won a meaningful game against them." he added.

What went wrong

There were chances tonight, that's for sure. But in the end the Eskimos brought enough grit along the boards and precision passing to get the job done. Barry Snow and the rest of the Hawks defense were guilty of too many offensive-minded chances to neutralize the steady Eskimo attack.

"We gave up too much in front and didn't do well getting back," said Snow.