More Gold for Hawks minor lacrosse teams

Main photo: PeeWee Hawks (back from left) Head Coach Ken Robins, Assistant Coach Dave Thur, Trainer Ross
Clarke, Assistant Coach Chad Pare; (middle row from left) Kaidyn Crowder, Carson Robins, Kean Pare, Daniel Clark, Hunter Crawford, Ben Plante, Ethan Caracciolo; (front row from left) Wyatt Fisher, Ethan Roos, Owen Decaro, Damon Buttus, Peter Perentesis, Carter Boone; (foreground from left) Glen Thur, Evan Pare, and Keegan Shirtliff

The Huntsville Hawks are nearing the top with their Gold medal wins heading into their provincial tournaments in August.

Earlier this month, Hawks teams had a weekend full of lacrosse success with the Preston Heating Tykes and the Moller Insurance Novice team at away tournaments while the R&G Construction Peewees and the FC Hammond Bantam Hawks hosted the Jack Bionda Shoot-Out Tournament.

At the the 21st Nepean Knights Tournament from July 14-16, the Preston Heating Tykes started off the weekend strong with a win 12-3 against Akwesasne.

On Saturday, the Hawks played two games, first against Peterborough with another strong win, 8-1, and a second, closer game against the host team Nepean where they lost by two, 9-7. With their two out of three wins, Huntsville earned a spot in the semi-finals, and as Coach Kory Shirtliff said, “the team was not going to let another team beat them again!”

The semi-final was held on Sunday, July 16 where the Hawks played an outstanding game, winning with a 12 point lead, 14-2 against Peterborough.

Moving into the championship game, the Hawks were matched against Nepean, the only team to beat them over the weekend. The Hawks held their own and played their best, jumping to a quick 2-0 lead in the first couple of minutes. The the boys never looked back said Coach Shirtliff, taking the win with a whopping 10 point lead, 11-1, to bring home the Gold.

Preston Heating Huntsville Tykes Hawks (back from left) Assistant Coach Jon Quinlan, Assistant Coach Craig Frasier, Trainer Ryan Woollings, Head Coach Kory Shirtliff; (middle from left) Carter Quinlan, Jake Earl, Nick Lagendyk, Brady Higgs, Avery Shirtliff, Dylan Bennett, Carson Frasier, Warren Neal; (front from left) Logan Sheppard, James Pritchard, Zach Woollings, Braedan Woollings, Jaxon Urbanski, Max Fleming, Taylor Carnduff, and Quinten Cool (supplied photo)

On the same weekend, the Moller Insurance Novice team competed at the Clarington Tournament in Whitby.

The Hawks took their first two games of the tournament, 6-2 over Markam and 10-2 against West Durham.

The Novice Hawks kept their winning streak alive as they played Burlington on Saturday, July 15 and won 9-5. Later, that day, Huntsville competed against the host team, Clarington 2, and experienced their first loss with a score of 10-2. The boys did not let this one loss set them back as they made a come-back on Sunday, July 16 in the semi-final game against Burlington to win 8-5 and secure a spot in the championship game against Clarington 2.

The Novice team, just like the Tykes team, headed to the gold-medal game to faced the only opponent that had beat them. The Hawks displayed the steady growth they’ve made over the season to double their lead against Clarington 2 to 4-2 for the big win.

Huntsville Novice Hawks (back from left) Head Coach Joe O’Halloran, Trainer Tim Franks, Henry Leeder,
Deegan Seaman-Marshall, Owen Hogue, Assistant Coach Evan Benham, Assistant
Coach Ryan Bennetts; (middle from left) Walker Crawford, Riley Reid, Kurtis Kingshott, Curtis Franks, Jake Reynolds, Hunter Stillar, Ewan McChesney; (front from left) Jaxon Crowder, Ethan Shirtliff, Tyson Buttus, Willow Davidson, Cohen Carlson, Owen O’Halloran, and Lincoln Lawrence (supplied photo)

R&G Construction Peewee and the FC Hammond Bantam Hawks hosted the Jack Bionda Shoot-Out Tournament from July 14-16. There were eight teams participating in the Bantam Division and seven in the PeeWee Division.

On Friday, July 14, Huntsville played against Sudbury and won with a great lead, 9-2. The Hawks second game showed the teams’ strength against Hamilton by taking the win with another large lead, 14-2.

Saturday’s third win, 10-3 against Brampton, secured the team’s first-place finish, meaning that the PeeWee Hawks were able to gain a bye to the championship game and did not need to compete in a semi-final.

The semi-final game had Hamilton and Brampton battling it out for a spot in the championship game against Huntsville. The crowd was intense, and vulgar remarks hurled at players and refs, causing the refs to ask several spectators to leave the arena. Brampton took the win to face Huntsville in the final.

In the championship game, Brampton quickly took a two-point lead as the guest crowd advised the boys on the floor to “hit hard”. The crowd became heated when the refs made penalty calls against the opposing team.

Huntsville was able to gain the two points back to tie up the game in the first period, and the Brampton spectators began to challenge the refs’ calls. Although there were calls against both teams, the refs continued to receive putdowns and had their calls questioned by the Brampton coach, who was excused from the bench for a time out penalty.

Both teams played hard and fought for the final win but the crowd behaviour was too disruptive for the game to proceed with ease. As a result, all spectators were asked by the refs and tournament convenors to exit the arena to allow the boys their last minute of play in peace. The PeeWee teams played until the final buzzer and Huntsville secured the win with a two point lead, 6-4, for the gold.

“The boys have come together as a team over the past few months and have worked extremely hard to achieve the success,” said PeeWee Hawks Head Coach Ken Robins. “The medals come off the hard work of every player and doing their part of the team’s assignments. We as a coaching staff are looking forward to another gold medal in provincials in August.” Robins noted that team is ranked 25th in Ontario which puts them in a B Division. “They will have to work harder to achieve gold in provincials and I believe this team is capable of achieving this goal.”

Overall, the closing ceremonies were brief but dedicated to the players from both teams and their gallant efforts from start to finish during the championship game. Congrats to the PeeWee team and to everyone who hosted the tournament.

The FC Hammond Bantam Hawks participated in their own Division of the Jack Bionda ShootOut Tournament. In the July 14 game, the Hawks played against Hamilton and took the win by one, 4-3.

The following day, the Hawks met Clarington 2 and fell short with a loss, 7-1, but their next game had them back on top winning 10-2 against Mimico 2.

In the semi-final game on Sunday, the Hawks met Northumberland on the floor. It was a challenging game; the team played their best but came away with 10-4 loss. The Bantams gave it their all at the tournament, playing without a few prominent players including the team’s only goalie, who were away in Baltimore playing lacrosse with the Evolve program. A huge thank you to Zach Blair who is an out player for stepping in to play goal for the entire weekend with minimal experience. Great efforts, Bantams!

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