In game one of their provincials series with Westlock on Sunday, the Bantam ‘AA’ Athabasca Winterhawks made a statement.
With a decisive 7-1 home ice victory in game one of the two-game, total points series — including a five-goal outburst in the second period and a stifling defensive effort in the third — that statement was, “Thanks for coming out.”
Though a lot can happen in the course of a playoff series — even one as short as two games — the Hawks look a lot like a team that is destined to glide past Westlock on their quest for provincial glory.
That certainly seemed to be the case at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex on Sunday, where the Hawks outclassed their visitors from start to finish.
Although the two teams entered the first intermission deadlocked at one goal apiece, the shot clock told a much different story of the first 20 minutes. The Hawks owned a 24-8 advantage, painting the picture of one team pouring on the pressure while the other’s defense wilted against the barrage with only the efforts of their goaltender keeping them in the game.
In the second frame, that kind of play caught up to Westlock as Athabasca rang up another 23 shots on the clock. And this time, goaltending couldn’t save the visitors as the Hawks cashed in five of those shots, taking a decisive 6-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Hawks may have taken their collective foot off the pedal in the third, firing only 13 shots at the Westlock netminder and scoring just once to ice the 7-1 final score. But they also played impressive defensive hockey, limiting the visitors to just two shots in the final frame.
Inking their names on the scoresheet for the Hawks were Nathan Klaczek (two goals, one assist), Ryan Runcer (two goals, one assist), Tanner Richards (two goals), Brandon Lamoureux (one goal, two assists), Josh Payuk (three assists) and Ty Tipton (one assist). In goal, Robbie Mason had a light workload, turning away 19 of Westlock’s 20 shots.
The second and final game in the series has yet to be scheduled, and the Hawks also have one more regular season game to play. They have been dominant in their Sturgeon Pembina Hockey League division this season, amassing a record of 11-1-1 and positioning themselves as the team to beat in the playoffs.
And with the win over Westlock on Sunday, it looks like they will be players in the provincials as well.
If the Hawks get past Westlock, they will face the winner of the series between Stony Plain and Edson. But head coach Calvin Klaczek isn’t looking that far ahead, and he doesn’t want his players doing it either.
“Everyone is confident, but you don’t want to be overly confident,” explained the coach. “You never know what is going to happen in hockey. In the next game, we could get a bad bounce or a bad call.”
That’s not to say the coach is lacking confidence in his club. More than once this season, they have proven themselves to be the class of the division, just as their record suggests.
“They rise to the level of their competition,” noted the coach.
If that’s the case, they must have thought pretty highly of Westlock going into Sunday’s game.
And continuing to respect their opponent might just be the key to finishing this series as strongly as they have started it.
