The Hawks had the opportunity to guarantee their place in the play-offs on Saturday evening, and took full advantage, with a competent display against a gutsy Telford outfit. A huge crowd of over 900 supporters descended upon the Arena and took their seats, as the referee dropped the puck, to start the game.
The first penalty of the evening came with only 8 seconds gone, when the visitor's Harrison received a 'delay of game' call, for depositing the puck over the boards. This was closely followed by co-incidental penalties against Blackburn's Canadian, Jon Adams, and Telford youngster, Gordon, for 'slashing' and 'cross-checking', respectively. However, the home side couldn't create any chances on goal. Once back at full-strength, the Titans launched their first meaningful attack of the match, but Stuart Ashton, who was deputising for the suspended Danny Brittle, produced a cool glove save, to settle his nerves. He was called into action again soon after, when a Telford forward found himself one-on-one, but the young net-minder closed off his options well, and made the save. With half of the period gone, the opening goal arrived, when Adams gratefully fired a rebound past Gospel in the Titans net. Two minutes later, and the score was doubled, when Matt Viney chased down a pass out of defence. The loose puck was gathered by Aaron Davies, and he passed back to Chris Arnone, who flashed a 'one-timer' past the keeper. With the Hawks predominantly on the front foot, it came as something of a shock when the visitors halved the deficit. A rare mistake in the Blackburn defence saw them lose possession in their own zone, and Harrison fired in off the crossbar. There was some conjecture as to whether the puck had crossed the line , but the officials eventually deemed that it had done so, before bouncing back into play. A couple of minor penalties, against Viney, and then Gordon, saw the period draw to a close with both teams enjoying time with a man-advantage, but the defences held firm.
The second period began with the Hawks on the power-play, and it was not long before Gospel was beaten for a third time. Jake Nurse surged down the left wing, and as he headed towards goal, unselfishly passed across the front of the net, to the waiting David Miekle, who made no mistake. The free-scoring forward, Adam Brittle, who has built up an almost 'telepathic' understanding with Adams, was the next to get his name on the scoresheet. The two combined to set Brittle free on the left, and he had time to pick his spot, right in the top right-hand corner of the net - giving the goalkeeper no chance. 4-1 soon became 5-1, when Blackburn scored on the power-play. Arnone pressurised a defenceman into 'coughing up' possession, and when he gave the puck to Danny Mackriel on the offensive blue-line, he had plenty of time to shoot beyond the unsighted keeper. The Telford goalie was working 'overtime', to keep his team in the tie, and produced an unbelievable save with his stick, whilst prone on the floor, to deny Adams.
The final 20 minutes began with both sides upping the physical aspects of their game - big hits coming from each team. On 47 minutes, Viney turned goal-provider once again, when he battled down the left of the offensive zone, before beating two defenders, and picking out Tom King, who coolly lifted a first-time shot past Gospel. A minute later, and the demoralised netminder was retrieving the puck from his net once more, when Jared Owen fired home from in-close, after a good passing move involving Ivo Dimitrijevs, Davies and Brittle. The final goal of the game came with only 8 minutes remaining, when Owen found Adams on the right, and when the Canadian cut inside, he only had one thing on his mind. He wound-up, and unleashed a ferocious slapshot past the flailing glove of the keeper. With the game winding down, King took exception to some underhand play from Gordon, and with the youngster having repeatedly refused to take on-board several warnings from both the opposition, and the officials, he decided to inflict his own form of justice. A bone-crunching check into the boards saw the powerful Hawk ejected from the game - leaving behind a crumpled heap, as Gordon reeled from the impact. Indeed, it took him several minutes to recover, although he still looked in considerable distress as he was escorted from the ice. Ashton had the final say in the match, when he made a fine save from a deflected shot, and the hooter was greeted by a loud cheer from the crowd, who knew that 'post-season' hockey had been assured.
Stuart Ashton was awarded MVP, for a diligent display between the pipes.
Image courtesy of John Milton - www.togger.co.uk
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