Milton Winterhawks Atom Select

3 Jan 2010
The Winterhawks came back from holidays to play a sluggish game against the Brampton Sharpshooters. The game was in the Sharpshooter’s favour until the third when the Hawks woke up to win the match with a 5-3 score.
The first period belonged to Brampton with two successful shots getting past the Hawks’ D and Schaap. MacGregor got Milton on the board on a nice play by Takeuchi and Dutton to round out the first. The Sharpshooters took a 3-1 lead early in the second while the Hawks continued to struggle to find their groove. It wasn’t until Mulraney sent a sharp pass to Galarneau who found an opening glove side at 2:11 of the second that Milton finally got their legs.
As in all match-ups between these two highly competitive teams, both sides spent considerable time in the penalty box throughout three periods of play. The third period was a come-back story as Milton scored 3 points within 3 minutes. First up was McDonald sending it out of the Hawks’ zone right to MacGregor’s stick. He fired it on net and the rebound was picked up by Galarneau who tallied his second of the game. Di Biasio repeated the formula and lobbed the puck up to Takeuchi. Takeuchi and Dutton worked in tandem into the Sharpshooter’s end and it was a wrap-around by Dutton that gave Milton their first lead of the game. Less than two minutes later Sooriya and Michailoff created the opportunity and Harrison sent it high to clinch the win.
Shots on net were 22-11 for Milton.

20 Dec 2009
Match ups between the Winterhawks and the Brampton Spitfires are shaping up to be the rivalry of the season and the result of this latest go-round was 4-2 for Milton. Takeuchi marked the decisive goal in the final minutes of the third when MacGregor drove it deep into Spitfires’ space and fired it on net. The rebound was picked up by Dutton who shot it over to his open line mate and had #14 send it home.
The game began, and remained, fast and physical for the duration. The Hawks were first on the board with more than half the first period gone with a sharp pass from Dickin to MacGregor who found an opening up high. Several minutes later the Spitfires tied it up, but this was short-lived when Dutton found MacGregor’s stick and he got it past the Spitfires’ netminder.
The second period stayed scoreless until 26 seconds left to play when Harrison found an opening in the opponent’s D and used his perfectly placed team mate Dutton to open up the play. Dutton didn’t have a clear shot and lobbed it over to Michailoff who registered the Hawks’ 3rd point. Brampton found another opening deep in the third, but despite pulling their netminder couldn’t find that tying opportunity. Shots on net were even at 13 apiece.

12 Dec 2009
The last time these two teams met the Raiders dominated a lacklustre Hawks team. This go-round it was an evenly matched, fast-paced and physical game.
Milton came out strong and was first on the board at 3:57 of the first. Following some quick back and forth Evans and Harrison drove the play into the Raiders’ zone. Harrison’s deflected shot was picked up by Wulfers Joyce just inside the blue line and he fired it past the Georgetown netminder. The second period had Milton making the lead 2-0 when Dutton and MacGregor provided Takeuchi with an opportunity to send the puck into the Raiders’ crease. The lead was short-lived and Georgetown got three past Corp in quick succession as Milton scrambled to regain their footing. With just over 2 minutes left in the second Takeuchi, MacGregor and Dutton went on the attack. Takeuchi sent the puck over to MacGregor who couldn’t find an opening, but managed to get it over to Dutton. Dutton got on the good side of the Raiders’ keeper and tied it up for Milton.
Corp stopped 20 attempts, many of which were rapid-fire shots on net. Play got a bit chippy in the third and both teams warmed the penalty box a total of seven times throughout the game. The Georgetown Raiders took advantage of the Hawks’ time in the bin in the last period of play to get a two point lead over Milton. Final score was 5 to 3.

6 Dec 2009
The Winterhawks played host to the second place Brampton Spitfires and came out slow in the first period. Milton got one past the Spitfires’ keeper halfway through the second on a nice play by Mulraney and Harrison who set Evans up for the first point of the game. Despite this the play was still stilted on the Hawks end and the Spitfires put two shots past Schaap before the end of the second.
The Hawks finally took ownership of the game in the third and played a more aggressive and passing game. The result was two more points to win the game 3-2. The tying goal of the game was an end to end by MacGregor who rushed past the Brampton forwards and defence to fire it high. Less than a minute later the defencemen created a good offensive opportunity and had Mulraney driving it into the Spitfires’ zone and sending a clean pass over to Harrison who found the opening. Sharp saves from Schaap rounded out the battle. Hawks outshot the Spitfires 18 to 15.

29 Nov 2009
Despite having Milton firmly in their crosshairs, the Caledon Blackhawks could not topple the Winterhawks from the top spot. The Hawks stayed steady and won the battle 5-3.
Seconds into play, Takeuchi and Michailoff brought the game into the Blackhawks’ zone and sent it to MacGregor who found an opening and put Milton on the board. A couple more goals several minutes later gave the Hawks a strong lead. Cunha sent a long pass to Dutton who spotted Galarneau. #9 got into prime position and shot it high for a sharp goal. One minute later it was crisp passing between McDonald and Galarneau that allowed Cunha to make it 3-0 for Milton. Schaap started in net and stopped a succession of five hard shots before the Blackhawks fired one past to get their first point of the game.
The second period was scoreless until the Blackhawks snuck one past Corp at 1:55. With the game getting tighter the Winterhawks rallied and at 22 seconds to go until the buzzer Isnor and Harrison broke out of Milton’s end and gave MacGregor the perfect opportunity for another point. 10 seconds later it was Evans and Mulraney opening up the play and allowing Harrison to get in deep and rocket a shot past the Blackhawks’ goalie.
The only goal scored in the third was by Caledon, but both teams kept the pressure up the entire period. The Blackhawks are a tough team and the game was fast and clean. Milton outshot Caledon 20-11.