HAMILTON STEELHAWKS ALMOST THERE
HAMILTON—The Hamilton Steelhawks were almost there in terms of posting their first victory of the 2015-16 Allan Cup Hockey season, and they are hopeful that it may come this weekend on their first weekend road trip of the season.
Last Saturday, the Steelhawks appeared to be on the verge of a comeback but they were dealt a bad hand in the third period and fell 8-3 to the Stoney Creek Generals in the Dave Andreychuck Arena.
“We played tremendous hockey during the first two periods against the Generals. We had multiple breakaways and scoring chances, which we need to take better advantage of in games against strong teams like Stoney Creek,” said Steelhawks President and General Manager Jason Daleo. “The difference in this game was burying the puck; the Generals simply did a better job when given the chance.”
Daleo added that the third period has been a strong one for Hamilton during the past four games and the club seemed to be poised to continue that strong play, in spite of being down by a goal entering the third period. Unfortunately a “chin strap” penalty at the start of the period appeared to end the rally “when the Generals capitalized on that moment with Cody Wilson, our top defenceman in the penalty box”.
We missed Jason Ward in our lineup on Saturday, but we were happy to have Mark Rodgers back in action after separating his shoulder in the first game of the season,” Daleo said. “Production and leadership from Kyle McQuade was nice to see. He netted two goals in the contest.”
“Our defensive struggles have been deciding the factor in each of our five contests, however, we will continue to improve defensively and create offensive opportunities for our forwards as all five players on the ice being more accountable defensively.”
Hamilton was outshot 49-39; however, the Steelhawks were the only club to score on the powerplay. Hamilton converted one of four opportunities while the Generals were unable to score on their only powerplay advantage.
Wilson’s powerplay goal at 15:49 of the second period put spark in the Hamilton attack. Four seconds later McQuade scored his first of two goals to narrow the count to 4-2. Then came the third period penalty, which seemed to doom the club. The Steelhawks had the final say as McQuade fired a shot past Daniel Svedin in the Stoney Creek net with 54 second left to play. Wilson also had two assists for Hamilton.
Mike Ruberto and Tyler Donati scored twice each for the Generals. Ruberto’s goals increased his league scoring lead to 15 points (six goals and nine assists). Sean Blanchard, Jordan Gignac, and Myles Falasca picked up a goal and an assist each with Jeff Leaist, Chris Knighton, and Andrew Radjenovis setting up two scoring plays apiece for Stoney Creek.
For ticket purchase visit: http://www.ticketscene.ca/events/13682/ or email us at info@hamiltonsteelhawks.com Fans can also purchase tickets at the Upper James Boston Pizza and receive a FREE individual size pizza with the purchase of a pair game tickets.
