Skyhawks rebound against Eskimos

Skyhawks forward Joel Senecal dives to make a pass to Kyle Radigan on the point late in the second period. Photo by Michelle Baril.

Story by Michelle Baril

After coming off an embarrassing shootout loss to the last place Manitoulin Islanders Friday, the North Bay Skyhawks came out firing Sunday night against the Abitibi Ekimos.

The 7-3 victory was well earned and Skyhawks head coach Ian Swalucynski said he’s very proud to see a solid sixty minutes from his team.

“I’m happy with the way everybody played," Swalucynski said.

"We came out with more passion and more will to win."

The loss to the Islanders served as inspiration for this contest as the ‘Hawks feel they need to continually prove themselves to the league.

“Since day one we’ve had to prove ourselves,” Swalucynski said. “Nobody gives us respect. We have four lines that can score, four lines that can hit, and four lines that can play defense.”

That was proven Sunday with newly acquired forward Alex Valenti led the scoring with his first hat-trick in a Skyhawks uniform.

However, Abitibi was the first on the board. Alex Fiset took a backdoor feed from teammate Marc-Alain Begin and slid the puck under Skyhawks goalie Jeff Michael.

It was Valenti to got the ‘Hawks on the board in this contest tapping in a rebound from point-man Marcel Konopelky on a five on four delayed penalty call.

Northern Ontario Hockey League point leader, Dustin Fummerton kicked off the second with a slap shot from the hash marks 24 seconds in, giving him his 27th goal of the season.

Ryan Loach and Brad Hummel both added goals for North Bay in the second with assists going to Fummerton, Tyler Hummel, Kyle Radigan, and Nathaniel Vail.

The Eskies closed out the period with a goal coming from Josh Clancy.

It was Valenti again opening the third with a nifty tap in off the post and behind Eskies net minder Francis Albert who stopped 13 of 30 North Bay shots.

Late in the third with a man short, North Bay’s Ryan Loach picked the pocket of an Abitibi defender in the neutral zone and passed the puck behind him to a streaming Valenti and slid it through the 5-hole of Albert to cap off his third of the night.

Valenti attributed his performance to the entire team’s effort against the Eskimos and a strong week in practice.

“Our plan was to keep it simple; get pucks deep,” Valenti said. “We knew they’d come out rough. We weathered that and put pucks in the net.”

Trent Lizee would net his 19th of the season to seal the deal at seven.

The Skyhawks look to extend their league in the East with two road games this week. Wednesday they’ll visit the Junior Wolves and Saturday take a trip to Blind River to take on the Beavers before returning home to host the Soo Thunderbirds next Sunday and 7:00 p.m.

Skyhawks add Marquardt

Sources say the Skyhawks will be adding another local player for the stretch drive. Cory Marquardt, the brother of Providence Bruins forward Matt Marquardt, is expected to sign with the Skyhawks on Monday. Marquardt played last season with the Temiscaming Royals and spent a short time with the QMJHL's Bai-Comeau Drakkar.

The 19-year-old forward is expected to bring more grit and toughness to the Skyhawks lineup during the stretch drive.