Eagles Continue to Soar in Victory Over Georgina

Article by Ian Schoonderbeek & N. Schoonderbeek
Media by Chris Archer & N. Schoonderbeek

The Clarington Eagles stretched their regular season unbeaten streak to ten games Thursday, defeating the Georgina Ice 6-1 at Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex.

Perhaps it was the extra motivation of “Moms Night” that was driving the first-place squad to yet another dominant on-ice performance. The moms arrived early to spend time with their boys before the game and sported their sons’ jerseys in the stands.

“The best part of watching these Eagles play is seeing them go from a group of individuals to a group of teammates who play every game with the same goal of heading back to the Cup in 2023,” said Lisa Shaw, mother of Jordan Shaw. “The support they get from the parent group, siblings, and fans is like no other, and we couldn’t be happier to be a part of the Eagles family!”

“It was a good night,” said head coach Dean Baumhauer. “It was a little bit of a departure from our normal routine with it being Mom’s night, but the moms and kids enjoyed it.”

The Eagles jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period on goals by Shaw, Brady Darrach, and Kolby Poulin. Shaw and Poulin would each score their second of the game in the second period and Adam Klaas added one more in the third.

Clarington outshot Georgina 53-15 in the contest. Marc-Olivier Robert earned his second victory of the season with a 14-save performance.

The coach is pleased with his club’s performance so far this season. “Overall, we’re working hard, the effort level is good, the buy-in is there, and the boys are coachable,” said Dean. “I’m nit-picking them on little stuff right now knowing that when we face teams like Napanee and Little Britain the small details matter. We want to make sure we’re playing the right way when the games mean a lot more later. We’re winning right now, but we can still tighten things up a little”

Baumhauer praised the work of Shaw and Klaas in the game. “They played big. Georgina likes to run around and hit. Sometimes you’ve got to stand up for yourself and Shaw and Klaas are two big boys who don’t let people mess around with their teammates.”

“I definitely think one of Jordan’s best qualities is standing up for others,” said Lisa Shaw in agreement with the coach. “He may be a big guy, but deep down he has a heart of gold and won’t let anyone get pushed around. One big hit at the start of the game sets the pace for how he plays. I knew the second he hit that ice last night that he was fired up and was going to put some points on the board. And of course, I like to think he did it in honour of me for moms night.”

“I’ll take the compliment!” said Shaw with a grin when told of his coach’s assessment of his performance. “Dean had us well prepared. We knew they were going to come out hitting. We just had to make sure we matched their physical play and played our game. The puck was going in for me tonight.”

Unfortunately for the Eagles, they’ll be without the services of defenseman Ryan Hall for the next 5 games after he was assessed a 5-minute major and a match penalty for head contact late in the first period.

While Baumhauer is obviously not happy to have Hall out of the lineup, he noted the suspension would create opportunities for other players to step up and take on a bigger role in his absence.

They will have their first opportunity to do so this Saturday, October 22 when the Eagles travel to Little Britain Arena to take on the second-place Merchants. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.

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