The Caledon Minor Peewee Select Blackhawks came out strong in a rare Sunday game against the Brampton Sharpshooters. Hungry for a win after games on both Thursday and Saturday saw a goal disallowed and numerous questionable penalties called, nothing would slow down the efforts of the Blackhawks in this game. Both Thursday and Saturday’s game saw some outstanding play by goaltender Russ McCanna and hard driving efforts by Steve Luongo, wearing coloured laces in honour of his recently deceased grandfather, but neither game resulted in a win. With a score to settle, and hoping to recapture the spirit of their 4-2 victory over the Snipers on January 23, the Blackhawks came out strong in this one and never looked back.

Michael Upshall started the momentum with a hard drive up the ice. While he didn’t sink the puck on his first attempt, midway through the second period on his third drive along the boards Upshall connected with the back of the net, despite Brampton’s two man advantage! Michael was assisted by Bernardi for this, the second goal of the game. The first goal was also scored while Caledon played shorthanded, a beauty by Christopher Cola, who fired the puck on the net only to be stopped by the Brampton net minder. But in the true spirit of “never give up,” Cola came back to score on his own rebound.

By the end of the second period Brampton managed to tie the score, but with a series of penalty calls against them, Caledon had a renewed sense of determination to overcome the odds. Lighting up the back of the net in the third period was goal scorer David Ryan assisted by Jack Dizon and Christopher Bernardi. Following soon after came a cool goal by Zach Roman, who was also assisted by Dizon. With the score now 4-2 and Brampton smarting from the two shorthanded goals gained by Caledon, Brampton pulled the goalie. After a beautiful glove save by Caledon goaltender McCanna, the Blackhawks were called again on another penalty but still took control of the puck, and despite the man advantage held by Brampton, the Blackhawks scored another insurance goal into an empty net with 55 seconds left.

Team sponsors, including HR Associates and Stephen Ryan, Spectrum Realty Services expressed their excitement at watching this “edge of your seat” game. Coach Kevin McCanna commented that the boys held their positions, played hard and played as a team. It was a solid effort by all the players and this win will help send the boys to the London tournament next week with the mental advantage and competitive edge needed to ensure victory. No doubt, another Blackhawks team sponsor, St. Louis Bar and Grill here in Bolton, will be happy to play host upon the team’s successful return!