Hawks take down 1st place Leafs

Dublin, OH- Many wondered if the tables were turning with the 6 time champs mired in the middle of the standings while the Leafs raced to a perfect record half way through the season. That question was somewhat answered with the Hawks skating to a 2-1 victory in a tough battle between these perennial league powers. On paper the teams looked pretty even, coming into the game the Leafs sported a 6-0 record scoring 29 goal while allowing only 16. Facing the Leafs were the 4-2 Arrowhawks who had potted 26 goals while allowing 16 entering Friday nights game.

The game started fast and furious (sorry Vin Diesel, couldn't come up with better adjectives) with the Leafs controlling the game in the 1st and clearly outplaying the Hawks offensively. The Hawks weathered the storm thanks many point blank saves by Jason "Stonewall" Jensen, including a stop on a Mark "I'm really good at hockey" Waterstreet breakaway. Finally with 5:00 to go in the 1st, Ryan "I went to High School with Torsok" Amos opened the scoring on a pass from Bill "Lady Byng" Palmatary. "I could see anything" Jensen said about Amos' screened shot from the point. As the 1st period came to a close, the Hawks started to sober...I mean wake up.

The 2nd period started with a flurry from the top line of Bryce "Don't call me Bryan" Griffith, Kevin "Methane Cocktail" Griffith and Mac "3 penalty" Lawless. Lawless, a stalwart blueliner, took a whirl at forward and played well as he and Kevin found Bryce on a couple of chances on the doorstep only to be turned away by Drew "I'm not the regular goalie" Russell. David " I got called for High Sticking" Bentley of the Leafs took an ill timed High Sticking penalty at the 4:40 mark of the 2nd. The Hawks were moving the puck well on the PP when Mike "Yes, I am really that slow" Gauthier kept in a Leafs clearing attempt and found Mark "Don't call me Mac" Monahan along the side boards by the hash mark. Monahan found Tom "Pale Legs" Morgan streaking down the slot and hit him right on the tape, Morgan fought off a check and roofed it over Russell's glove to knot the game at 1. The Leafs began to get flustered as the typically quiet Waterstreet and Teddy "I'm faster than I look" Martin found themselves in the box and displayed their emphatic disagreement with the refs. The Hawks took advantage with 1 minute to go in the 2nd as Oleg "Epic Win" Chetverikov fed Ted "GTB" Bulwinkle at the point. Bulwinkle wasted no time firing a slap shot on net that Russell couldn't see. "I closed my eyes and drilled it" said Bulwinkle at the bar...I mean post game press conference. " I had a perfect view from the bench" said Monahan..."He got all of it, maybe he should just keep his eyes closed all the time."

Next week the Hawks face off against the new guys...the Ruckmoor Ringers who are just 1 point behind the Hawks in the standings...should be a good tilt.

3 Stars:

3rd Star-Tom Morgan, Morgan's PPG got the Hawks rolling and they never looked back.

2nd Star-Ted Bulwinkle, Teddy played a solid game and his game winning tally was reward for his hustle.

1st Star-Jason Jensen, Jensen was his usual self in thwarting all but 1 of the Leafs scoring attempts, when Jensen is on his game the Hawks are a difficult team to beat.