Skyhawks cruise past Eskimos

Skyhawks goalie Ian Wilson makes a save during first period action. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Story by Steve Freyer

If the North Bay Skyhawks wanted to send a message to the Abitibi Eskimos in game two that their game one-overtime win was no fluke. The Skyhawks sent the message in a big way and then some, as they dominated the scoreboard 6-1, to take a 2-0 series lead in the best of seven quarter finals series. If it was indeed a message they were trying to send, Purolator Courier would have been proud as the Skyhawks delivered the message quick and effectively just 35 seconds into the game.

After winning the opening face off and dumping it into the Abitibi zone, North Bay’s fearless fore check gained possession in the offensive end, when Scott Faulkner collected the first of his two assists on the night by feeding the puck to Kody Carnevale who made no mistake of finding the back of the net for the 1-0 Skyhawk lead. The goal sent more than 1,700 fans at Memorial Gardens out of their seats as they cheered passionately for their home team.

The crowd would be silenced only 16 seconds later as Carnevale’s goal had barely been announced on the loud speakers when Abitibi broke down the ice on a 2-on-1, seeing Brent Wesley electing to hold on to the puck and wire it top corner beating Skyhawk goaltender Ian Wilson’s blocker side. With the score being tied 1-1, 51 seconds into the game it looked as though it was going to be a high scoring affair from both sides. The only problem with that was North Bay was the only team that did any scoring, adding three more goals in the first, all scored with the extra man to build a comfortable 4-1 lead going into the second frame. North Bay would go on to add a goal in the second and a goal in the third into an empty net in which they were outmanned six to four as they were killing a penalty. The games third star Ian Wilson, who also received third star honors in game 1, stood on his head for the Skyhawks turning aside 31 shots with 13 coming in the third period, to collect his second win in consecutive nights.

“It’s a whole different game when you know that you have a goalie back there who can bail you out of certain situations, obviously you don’t want to go change your game and make mistakes, but it’s nice to have someone back there you can depend on,” First year Skyhawk and former North Bay Trapper Kody Carnevale said of his teammate Wilson.

Special teams played a vital role in the Skyhawks victory both on the power play and on the penalty kill. The Skyhawks tallied 4 power play goals, killed penalties all night with perfection and even scored a shorthanded goal into an empty net.

“We’re moving the puck well and were able to setup in their zone. We’ve had to adjust a few things here and there, but we really try to keep an eye on the special teams to see what’s working and see what’s not working. If they change, next game we’re going to have to change and mask whatever they’re doing,” Skyhawks head coach Darren Turcotte explained after the game.

The Skyhawks played aggressive out of the gate and didn’t let up until the final buzzer, playing with no shortage of emotion. From blocking shots to taking the man, North Bay had playoff hockey written all over with the way they sacrificed their bodies at both ends of the ice.

“The first two games of the series we’ve blocked probably more shots then we’ve blocked in our last 15 games of the regular season. You never know when the last shot is going to go in, so if you have an opportunity to get in front of something you have to do it, it’s playoff time and we have to do the little things right,” Turcotte explained.

“It’s coming from their hearts, that’s all it is. Shot blocking even at the NHL level you got to want to do it and you got to know that sometimes it may hurt, but the good teams if you look at Carolina when they made their run at the Stanley Cup, they were in front of everything and that’s a huge part and it’s an emotional lift for the guys on the bench. When they see something like that it helps us maintain our momentum,” Turcotte said of his players giving the extra effort on the ice.

Turcotte was happy with the effort. He says the Skyhawks will rest up on Friday and be ready for game three in Iroquois Falls.

The same joy can’t be said for Eskimos Head Coach Paul Gagne, as his team now trails 2-0 in the series.

“We just lost track of a little focus here, so basically we just have to get back on track and do a little bit of soul searching,” Gagne said. “I give North Bay a lot of credit. They came out to play, have the motivation and are going hard”.

Although his team is down 2-0 and playing without former Skyhawk captain Justin Piquette, Gagne believes his team will re-group and show the Skyhawks a different Eskimo team in game 3 on Saturday night at Jus Jordan Arena.

“It would be nice to have Piquette in the lineup for sure, but we’ve done without him before,” Gagne said. “It will be a different game because these kids have a lot of pride and have fought all year. It’s just two games it’s not the end of the world,” Gagne added.

Gagne was scratching his head in disbelief saying he doesn’t understand Skyhawks coach Turcotte’s methods. “I’ve never heard coaches yelling at players, I’ll beat you up and I’ll carve you. You know what, you don’t talk like that, coaches don’t trash talk to the other opponent,” according to Gagne. “Let it go, you’re not a player anymore, you’re a coach, concentrate on coaching not yelling at our players,” a visibly frustrated Gagne said.

The Skyhawks were led offensively by Louis D Avino, who had two points including the game winner in the first period, Scott Faulkner, Nick Kulas and Justin Roy contributed two points each. Josh Diamond, Joe Trotter, Kody Carnevale, A.J Shiverdecker, Matt Williams and Brad Norkum rounded out North Bay’s scoring with a point each. Brent Wesley replied with an unassisted goal for the Eskimos.

All three stars of the game were rewarded to the Skyhawks, with Joe Trotter being the first followed by Kody Carnevale and Ian Wilson.

Despite the 6-1 Skyhawks win, Abitibi edged North Bay in shots by a margin of 32-26.

The Skyhawks look to take a strangle hold and commanding 3-0 series lead over the Eskimos Saturday night when they hop the bus and travel to the Jus Jordan Arena in Iroquois Falls, game time is 7:30p.m.