Jan 26, 2025 | Winterhawks News | 678 views
Shorthanded Hawks Soar Past Ripley
The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks didn't take their best lineup to Ripley on Saturday night, but it was the right lineup.
With a flu bug making its way through the Winterhawks dressing room, a short lineup made its way down Highway 21 to Ripley, where the 'Hawks shocked the first place Wolves with a 5-4 overtime victory.
The Winterhawks came out absolutely flying, scoring twice in the game's opening minute.
James McHaig opened the scoring at 21-seconds from Miles MacLean, followed by Justin Donnelly 15-seconds later from Luke Pither and the Winterhawks were up 2-0 immediately.
The quick-striking 'Hawks opened an even bigger lead at 4:21 when Matt Shields fired a slapshot past Ripley netminder Jason Hamilton, making it 3-0 from Justin Marlowe.
Hamilton's night came to an early end 1:14 later when MacLean made it 4-0, from Donnelly and Pither, chasing the veteran Ripley netminder, as Garrett Golley took over in the Ripley net.
It was all hands on deck from there, as the Winterhawks simply had to try and hold on against the powerful Ripley offence.
Clayton Fritsch saw plenty of rubber in the Winterhawks net, as the 'Hawks killed off three penalties in the opening frame.
Ripley finally broke through with an even-strength goal late in the period and it was 4-1 Winterhawks after one.
Garrett Meurs got Ripley within two early in the second, and the Winterhawk penalty killers held off Ripley a couple more times early in the second before the Wolves got to within one at 12:35 of the second.
A pair of Winterhawks power plays didn't pay off, but the Winterhawks were able to hold off the Wolves for the rest of the period, and the 'Hawks took a precarious 4-3 lead to the third period.
Ripley poured it on as the third period progressed, but Fritsch was equal to the task as the Winterhawks got closer to handing Ripley their first regulation loss of the season.
The Wolves got a late power play, but again, the Winterhawks penalty killers stayed perfect and kept the Wolves at bay.
Alas, the Ripley net was empty and the Wolves used the extra attacker to finally tie the game at 18:54, forcing overtime.
The Winterhawks had one more left in them, and it was the captain who delivered, as MacLean on a solo effort scored the overtime winner at 3:19 of the extra frame, giving the Winterhawks the 5-4 victory.
Fritsch made 46 saves in the Winterhawks net, stealing the win for the 'Hawks.
The Winterhawks 2024-25 regular season is now complete, and it was a tale of two distinctly different seasons.
After a bevy of injuries early, the Winterhawks were as low as 10th place in the standings with a 3-7-1 record after 11 games.
The win on Saturday completed an 8-1-0 run in the final nine games of the regular season, finishing with a record of 11-8-1, clinching 5th place in the Ontario Elite Hockey League standings.
The 'Hawks will have next weekend to recover while the regular season finishes up, and will await word on their playoff opponent, either the Tavistock Royals or Minto 81's.
The 2025 playoffs will open the weekend of February 7th, a full schedule will be released when official.