The
Hiller Realty Minor Peewee Rep Warriors were battling hard to keep the playoffs
going and headed to Cambridge for Game #4. The Burlington Bulldogs Red
swept Hamilton and was waiting to play the winner of this series.
Cambridge started off the game aggressively and scored early on. The Warriors were determined to get the goal back and got on a power play. Owen Holloway tipped it in on a shot from Avery Thurston but it got called off for a high stick. The Hawks got another penalty for slashing and we had a 5 on 3. Aidan Benton and Hayden White-Roy had some good scoring chances. Luke Heisz was playing strong defense. Kiefer MacNeil in net had a huge save to keep it a 1 goal game at the end of the period.
The second period started with a great glove save by MacNeil. The Hawks kept the pressure in our end until Sam Jeffrey moved the puck down and shot on net. Wes Duiker was working hard to break up plays and stopped a possible breakaway. The Hawks got one in off a face off move and Stratford was down 2-0. Thomas Sheldon made good zone clears throughout the period. Kaden Brame had a scoring chance but the Hawks goalie was unbeatable so far. The Hawks got another pair of goals to make it 4-0. Colton Gibson made a good hold and passed to Danny Van Straaten who made a shot. Lucas Jacklin came into net for the Warriors. Jared Gould wasn’t giving up and fired one on net and Jake Heinbuch almost slipped one past the Hawks goalie. Van Straaten rung one of the post. Jacklin made a few saves to give the Warriors a chance. Duiker took a shot from the point which was tipped by Brame and Van Straaten shot it in to score! A penalty was called on the Warriors with only a few seconds left in the period.
The Warriors had their work cut out for them in the third period being down 4-1 and starting shorthanded. The Hawks scored on the power play to make it 5-1. They were still on the power play as it was a 4 minute double minor. A Cambridge player did a nasty hit on a Warrior. Luckily our player was okay and we were back on the power play. Cole Meadows worked hard at the boards to get it out then sent a backhanded shot in to score. With 9 minutes left in the game we were down 5-2. The Hawks got another penalty and the Warriors put offensive pressure on. Thurston had some hard shots from the point. Luke Zorgdrager hustled back to break up a play. The Hawks got yet another penalty with 4 minutes left. Van Straaten had a good rush off a pass from Brame and fired off a shot. Holloway scored with 2 minutes left!! There was a chance to tie it up and extend the season. The Warriors worked very hard right up until the buzzer but lost 5-3. We are all very proud of the kids for their A+ efforts throughout the year.