Hawks lose a tough one to Toronto
Trevor Hilker

On Tuesday night, the Hawks hosted the Toronto Varsity Blues in a battle for first place in the OUA. However, what promised to be a real barnburner turned out to be a disappointing loss by the Hawks who were defeated 5-2.

"The team seemed nervous because it was a fight for first place and they seemed to come out flat," noted Hawks head coach Josh Batley.

The Hawks suffered a disasterous opening period, spotting the Blues three goals. However, in the last two, the Hawks really came back but were unable to get the bounces they needed. Probably the biggest thing that hurt them is that they were losing too many one-on-one battles and as Batley lamented after the game, "there is no excuse for losing a one-on-one battle."

Right off the opening draw, Toronto controlled most of the play, creating most of the chances in the first. They opened the scoring at the 6:30 mark of the first when forward Jacqueline Cherevaty threw the puck out in front and Summerhill jammed it in.

Toronto did not stop there as they got a similar goal just under one minute later as Urszula May collected a loose puck in the crease and shot it over Hawks goaltender Joyce Torrington who was sprawled out on the ice. The Hawks came close to cutting down the lead when Caroline Hall broke free from the back-checker and went in all alone and tried to put a back-hander past Keely Brown, but she stood her ground.

With that missed opportunity, Toronto extended their lead to 3-0 when Jennifer Rawson out skated the defense for a loose puck and scored on a breakaway.

The second period had a totally different look to it for the Hawks as they brought in back-up goaltender Charmaine Boteju and really came out firing. Unfortunately, they still could take total control away from Toronto. The Hawks did get on the score sheet as rookie Heather Allan blasted one from the face-off circle and it somehow found its way under Brown's right pad. Both Heather Hossie and Jennifer Forbes collected assists on the goal. However, only a few minutes later, Toronto struck again as Erin Fraser scored their fourth goal on a wrap around.

Like the second period, the third period had similar flow as Laurier gained some control, but not enough to mount a comeback. At the 8:55 mark, Allen recorded her second goal of the game by lifting one over the helpless goaltender who was on her back. Forwards Caroline Hall and Melanie Rahn recorded an assist on Allan's second goal, making the score 4-2.

Toronto then sealed the victory with a late goal scored by Jennifer Rawson, giving them a 5-2 win, regaining their one point lead on top of the OUA.

On the positive note, the Hawks did manage to turn their game around after the first period and at made it harder for Toronto to come up with a victory.

"We can beat this team if we play to our full potential, so first place is not out of the question for us," noted Batley.

This weekend the Hawks play in Minnesota at an exhibition tournament against the University of Minnesota. "We are looking forward to this knowing that we will benefit from the experience," explained captain Jennifer Krog, who's team will return to regular season action on Tuesday, January 26th when they begin their four game road trip starting in York, and finishing on the Saturday, January 30th in Toronto.

When asked if playing on the road is harder than playing at home for the Hawks, Batley stated that it is quite easy playing on the road because all rinks except for Laurier's have a large ice surface. With the added room on the ice, players like Lisa Backman and Caroline Hall, who like to carry the puck and use their great speed, can be a lot more effective.

Their next and final home game will be on Sunday February 7th when they play host to the Guelph Gryphons at 7:00p.m.