Oh so close! The Evoke Marketing Tier I Novice Warriors came within 28 seconds of victory over the first place West London Hawks November 13th but instead earned a huge morale booster with a 5-5 tie.
Reed Bowles got the start and was called upon to make some huge stops early but he had plenty of help as the defenders were blocking shots from the onset to keep the potent Hawks off the board. Just over a minute in the Hawks broke through ripping a shot over the defenders and high over Bowles for a 1-0 lead.
Bowles made several saves as the Hawks put the pressure on. Great backchecking by the forwards and solid defence kept it close until late in the first. Bowles made a big blocker stop unfortunately the rebound came out to a Hawks forward and he snapped it home for a 2-0 lead with 40.3 seconds remaining in the first period.
With six minutes to go in the second Owen Blain won the draw and found Colten Brenzil down low, he dished out front to Cole Hishon. He tipped it up over the netminder cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Noah Brosens came in late in the second and was tested immediately. Hawks sniper Beckham Edwards forced a turnover and rifled a blistering shot glove side to restore their two goal advantage. Nine seconds later Blain won the draw and Hishon spun and fired on net. Blain was there to flip it up over the goalkeeper cutting the deficit to one again. A minute later Brosens made a fantastic stop unfortunately the defender collided with him knocking the puck over the line and Edwards was credited with the goal.
The Warriors were determined to keep fighting and not give up. It paid off as Ryan Cassone carried up the right side and then slid it over to Rylan DeBoeck out front. He snapped it on net and Mark Martin was there to tap it in to make it 4-3 with 58.5 seconds to go in the second period. The Hawks held a 15-10 shot advantage after two.
Two minutes into the third, DeBoeck used his speed to elude the defenders, then cut to the right and snapped a blistering shot back to the lower left to knot it up 4-4.
With 10:22 to go in the third, Brenzil and Hishon combined to set up Blain out front. He fired a beautiful backhander to give the home side a 5-4 lead.
The Warriors turned up the intensity at both ends of the ice. The offence had a few glorious chances to add to the lead but couldn't get another one. With six minutes to go, Casen deGraaf was penalized for tripping but hustle, teamwork and great goaltending preserved the lead. The Hawks kept their sniper on the ice for most of the final six minutes trying to find the equalizer. Unfortunately with 28.5 seconds to go Edwards deked one defender then when the defenders got tangled up he was able to cut to the net and deke out Brosens and fire it home for a 5-5 tie.
The Warriors are now in fourth overall. The team is back in action November 19 when they travel to Sarnia and London to face Oakridge on November 20.
Submitted by Elaine Pennington