Defense Steps Up for Skyhawks

Story by Jacob Robinson

Scoring from the defense proved to be the difference Sunday night for the Skyhawks as they took on the Manitoulin Islanders. Hawk defenders Alex Ward, Quinn Waller and Ken Peroff combined for 4 goals leading their team to a 5-1 victory at the Gardens.

A shaky start for the home side would result in an Islander goal two minutes in. Ken May got credit for the mark with a shot from the point that hit a man in front leaving North Bay goalie Mike Lalande no chance to react. The Hawks seemed to be fighting to get in a groove early in the contest. Ward would help to change the games tempo when he snuck in from the point and received a great pass from Denis French in the corner and snapped home North Bay's opening tally.

"French made the whole play." Ward said. "He left me with a puck on a platter."

It was the only goal that the Hawks would register until midway through the second period. Not something that they were expecting with standings indicating that Islanders shouldn't have been in it for that long.

"We played down to their level." Kerr stated. "As and ex player I know its hard paying against a team that doesn’t match up to you physically, and scoring wise. If we want to be successful we need to bring our "A" game every night."

Kerr’s teams "A" game would begin to show in the latter part of the second. Ward struck again on a shot from the point that Islander tender Matt Thomson couldn’t not see for the group of players in front, and Quinn Waller scored his 5th goal of the year capitalizing on a chance from the slot.

"I guess I’ve got some offensive defensemen on my team all of a sudden." Kerr said jokingly after. "We want our "D" to join the attack a little more. With Wardy and Peroff getting pucks to the net and Wally joining the rush, its surprising what can happen and how many chances you can get."

Ken Peroff would make his way onto the score sheet when his wrist shot from the blueline went over Thompson’s glove and into the cage.

"They say that we have the best "D" in the league and I think we proved it tonight." Ward stated after receiving the games 1st star. "We scored and we played good defense."

Hawk Goalie Mike Lalande was solid as usual stopping 17 Islander shots. North Bay would hold Manitoulin to just 9 shots over the final two periods while firing 35 on the visitors. One of those shots was a three was passing play with Adam Cook and Matt Collins setting up Nick Kulas for a goal to put the game out of reach. The assist for Collins was his third on the night.

The win moves the Hawks to with 4 points of Sudbury for 1st place in the league with two games in hand. Attendance was 2,454. The Hawks will be in Brockville and Nepean this weekend. The next home game is Saturday January 28th vs the Kanata Stallions.