Eagles Add 2 More Wins Despite Inconsistent Play

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Media by R. Mansfield

The Clarington Eagles rattled off two more victories this week to maintain their perch atop the Orr Division standings.

After shutting out the Caledon Golden Hawks 5-0 on the road Sunday afternoon, the Eagles returned to the nest Thursday to host the Little Britain Merchants in a Halloween clash. Despite ending with an eventual 5-1 win at home, the Eagles’ performance left the coaching staff a little “spooked”.

Clarington’s play seemed sloppy from the opening drop of the puck. They generated little to no momentum through the first half of the game. In a nutshell, they didn’t play like a Dean Baumhauer-coached Eagles team.

It wasn’t until early in the second period that Adam Klaas opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season. Klaas powered down the left wing on the play before taking the puck hard to the net and banging in his own rebound.

However, a few minutes later, Little Britain tied the game at one on a missed Eagles defensive zone assignment.

It took a late second-period powerplay marker by Nate Burelle, followed by a Ben Stycuk goal less than a minute later, to give the Eagles a little breathing room.

Mitch Davies and Will Gourgouvelis added insurance markers in the third.

“That’s two games in a row we’ve been bad. We’re playing to the level of our competition right now,” said Baumhauer after the home victory. “I think we’ve got a lot of guys content here because we don’t have extra bodies. They think they’re safe to be in the lineup every night. What’s going to happen is guys are going to get a rude awakening because I’m going to bring a whole line of APs in, and some of our guys are going to have to sit in the stands and watch until they get the message.”

One thing you can always count on from Baumhauer is an honest assessment of his teams’ performances. He treats his players like the young men they are. Praise comes when warranted, but accountability is insisted upon.

“As a staff, we’re giving up a lot of time and there’s a certain level of expectation here,” said Dean. ”This isn’t your average Junior C team. Playing soft, stupid and lazy isn’t going to cut it with me. If you come mentally ready to play, play like you care, and compete every shift and you go out and make a mistake…I have no issue with that whatsoever. But we haven’t been preparing for the games properly and it’s showing in our play. So that’s got to change. Right now, the problem with our team is there’s no internal competition for playing time and guys are too comfortable from the top of the roster to the bottom.”

Baumhauer hopes the internal competition issue within his roster corrects itself in the coming weeks. The Eagles will have Kayden Hambly and Brock Mathieson back in the lineup for Saturday’s return match with Little Britain. Offseason acquisition Jack Davis’ recovery from injury is also progressing, and he could begin skating with the club shortly.

One of the bright lights for Clarington on Thursday was the stellar play of goaltender Braeden Derks, who was called upon to make several key saves while the game was still close. Derks did not play at all last season due to injury and admits his recovery has been a long, slow process. “I’m still feeling my way through it and I’ve had a lot of talks with Dean,” said Braeden. “He’s been really patient with me. I’m feeling good though.”

If Derks isn’t back to 100%, he certainly has the Eagles fans and opponents fooled this year. He has put up rock-solid numbers in his first eight PJHL games.

While Baumhauer cites perhaps a lack of internal competition among his skaters due to early-season injuries, he’s getting plenty of competition between the pipes! Derks and the Eagles’ other rookie netminder, Jairus Ford, have both been outstanding. “There was a little rivalry between us in minor hockey, with him playing in Clarington and me in Oshawa,” said Derks. “But we both signed here at the same time, and we clicked right away. It’s been really good. We’re able to point out things to each other between periods and help each other out.”

The Eagles will be looking to get back to playing “Baumhauer style” hockey Saturday night in Little Britain. They’ll be back in the nest at Rickard Arena on Thursday when the Uxbridge Bruins come to town.