Oct 15, 2021 | Winterhawks News | 910 views
Hawks come up short in shootout
Trevor Smith scored a buzzer beater to force overtime, but the shootout was unkind to the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks.
Cal Penney broke the stalemate in the fifth round of the shootout to give the visiting Seaforth Centenaires the 3-2 victory in the Outlaw Brew Co. Home Opener Friday night at The Plex.
A great, socially distanced crowd on hand at The Plex were treated to an early Winterhawks lead at 8:14 of the 1st period when Andy Mitchell tipped in a Josh Hopkin point shot to give the home side the 1-0 advantage.
The Winterhawks carried the play in the first against the Seaforth team playing their first game of the season, but the visitors found their stride in the second period and forced Jeff Flagler to make several spectacular saves in the Winterhawks net.
Seaforth found the back of the net at 6:40 of the middle frame, as Flagler made the initial save off the rush, but Brady Wiffin was there for the rebound to make it a 1-1 game.
Power plays and pleasantries followed throughout much of the rest of the game as the two sides found ways to agitate each other.
The deadlock remained until 15:56 of the 3rd, when Seaforth's Andrew Barton buried a rebound that bounced in front after Flagler made a big save at the side of the net.
With Flagler on the bench for the extra attacker, it appeared the Winterhawks would fall in regulation as Captain Trevor Smith sent one last hail mary shot from his own side of centre ice.
The shot dropped in front of Seaforth netminder Evan Morrison and fell between his legs and into the net with 1.4 seconds as The Plex erupted, sending the game to overtime.
The four-on-four extra frame solved nothing, sending it to the dreaded shootout.
Seaforth scored on the opening attempt, but Trent Hawke responded for Saugeen Shores to even the skills competition after one round.
Flagler and Morrison turned aside shots in the subsequent three rounds, setting the stage for Penney, who beat Flagler with a deke and a shot into the top corner.
Morrison turned aside James McHaig to give Seaforth the 3-2 win in the shootout.
The Winterhawks will be back in action at The Plex next Friday night, October 22nd, when they host the expansion Creemore Coyotes for the first time ever. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
News & Notes:
The Winterhawks wish the best of luck to D Riley Robertson, who has signed a professional contract with the Knoxville Ice Bears of the Southern Professional Hockey League.