Eagles Drop Game One Decision Against Hanover

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Photos by C. Archer

It was not the start they were hoping for.

After losing the coin toss to determine home ice advantage in the Schmalz Cup semifinal against the Hanover Barons, the Clarington Eagles made the long road trip for game one of the best-of-seven series Friday evening.

Despite outshooting the Barons by a 40-30 margin, the Eagles headed home down one game to nothing on the heels of a 3-0 road loss.

The two teams spent the first 20 minutes of the contest feeling each other out. It was the first chance for the clubs to see what each other was all about, as there is no inter-divisional play during the regular season.

The game remained knotted at zeroes until Hanover opened the scoring at 15:44 of the second period. A turnover at the Clarington blueline was quickly moved to a Hanover forward, who skated around a defender before walking in alone on Eagles starter Oliver Webster and tucking the puck around his outstretched pad.

Despite the 1-0 deficit at the second intermission, the Eagles remained upbeat about their chances going into the third.

“I didn’t mind our game through two periods,” said head coach Dean Baumhauer. “We were down 1-0. We just needed to go out and win a period.”

The Eagles thought they had the game tied up just over seven minutes into the third. However, the goal scored by Kyle Smith was waved off after the official immediately signalled the net had been knocked off its pegs.

A little more than a minute later, Hanover took advantage of another Clarington turnover. The Barons picked off a breakout pass before quickly moving the puck to the slot for another prime scoring chance buried past Webster.

Though the Barons played a solid, responsible game, the Eagles were not without their chances. With just over seven minutes to play, Trent Gaylor was stopped on a breakaway attempt to preserve the Barons’ 2-0 cushion.

Clarington pulled Webster for an extra attacker with two minutes to play. However, Hanover would score into the empty net in the dying seconds for a 3-0 win.

“It was a good hockey game,” said Baumhauer. “It’s the final four, so you know they will be good. They’re structured, they’re disciplined, and they play hard. But they’re not better than us.”

“We just had too many guys that didn’t show up tonight. We had some looks offensively. But did their goalie play well, or did we pepper his belly button? I think we just hit him most of the time.”

Baumhauer praised the performances of the fourth line, consisting of Brayden Hicks, Everitt Corneil, and Leyton Aitken, along with shutdown defensive pair Ethan Schoonderbeek and Nolan Matheson. Webster also delivered another solid performance in goal, giving his team a chance to win as he typically does.

“We didn’t get enough out of our top nine up front,” said Baumhauer. “Our top line has to be better. They have to generate more and bury some of their chances. And frankly, some important guys for us on the backend need to play better.”

The Clarington powerplay, an area of concern for the coaching staff at various times this season, was zero for two on the night. “Our powerplay didn’t generate any momentum,” said Baumhauer. “It’s one thing not to score. But we’ve at least got to generate some good looks offensively so that we feel good about ourselves for the next shift at five on five.”

Baumhauer and his club are prepared for a long series. “We’ll regroup and get ready for them on Sunday. It’s one game. We’ve been down before and responded well.”

The Eagles host the Barons for game two this Sunday at Rickard Arena. Game time is 3:25 pm.