Nov 12, 2013

The NSWC Midget A1 Winterhawks travelled to Vernon this weekend for a tournament to face some of the top Midget A1 teams in the province.

The Hawks got off to strong start Friday with an 8-3 win over Fort St. John, then came short in their first game Saturday morning against the North West Calgary Athletic Association Midget AA Stamps. In a game where the Hawks posted almost a 2-1 shot advantage, the team was unable to score, and eventually fell 4-0.

The loss set up a must win situation for the Hawks Saturday evening against the host Vernon Midget Vipers, if they wished to advance to the semi finals Sunday morning.

In a game that was somewhat of a reversal of the morning’s game, where nothing seemed to the Hawks way, the Hawks’ luck turned and they posted a 2-1 win against a determined and skilled host team to clinch a trip to the semis on Sunday morning.

The team faced off against undefeated Prince George on at 8:15 Sunday morning, in the first semi final game of the day. Prince George quickly demonstrated a speed and puck control game that soon took advantage of the Hawks inability to stay out of the penalty box.

Underage Hawk goaltender Cole Demers faced a barrage of shots and held off the attack for most of the first period, but eventually PG broke through and led 2-0 by midway in the game. PG posted one more before the Hawks answered at the midway point of the third to narrow the score to 3-1.

But a miracle comeback was not in the works for the Hawks, as PG quickly answered to go ahead 4-1, and hold the lead to the end.

The Hawks have been moved to the top division of PCAHA Midget A1 after the 8 game tiering round and are looking forward to competing with the top teams in the Lower Mainland starting this week.

Tournament results: