Eagles Regain Sole Possession of First Place with Victory over Chiefs

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Media by C. Archer

They got off to a bit of a slow start, but once the Clarington Eagles got rolling they cruised to a dominant 8-1 road win over the Lakefield Chiefs Tuesday evening. Clarington dressed four call-ups for the contest due to injuries, suspension, and school conflicts.

The Eagles were finally able to get on the scoreboard with 13 seconds to play in the first period when Nate Stirling scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season from Mitch Davies.

“We got off to a slow start but woke up late in the first and had a great last shift for the first goal,” said veteran defenseman Carter Watkins. “That helped us build momentum heading into the second, and we didn’t look back after that.”

Clarington’s offense struck quickly in the second period. Dawson Manning scored his 11th of the season from Kolby Poulin and Brady Darrach within 41 seconds of the drop of the puck.

Five minutes later, Manning struck again when Poulin found him driving the net. Ryan Hall also picked up an assist on the play.

Darrach showed some nifty playmaking skills just past the 13-minute mark of the second, feeding Hayes Bell for his ninth of the season.

Stirling potted his second of the evening to increase the Eagles’ lead to five from Connor Davies and Jake Dupuis with just over three minutes to play.

But with just over 20 seconds left in the second, the Chiefs picked off an errant pass in the Eagles’ zone and made no mistake snapping a quick shot past Eagles call-up goalie Iain Wintle. Wintle was solid in net for Clarington and picked up his first win in an Eagles jersey.

The Eagles would go on to dominate the third period as Lakefield found themselves in penalty trouble.

Watkins made it 6-1 with a point shot through a screen from Mitch Davies and Nolan Matheson. Stirling and Manning would each add hat-trick goals to round out the scoring.

Coach Dean Baumhauer was pleased with the effort from his club. “I thought we played with energy and had some nice puck movement,” said Dean. “Manning and Stirling obviously led the offense, but I also thought Mitch Davies really got us going with his physical play and effort on the forecheck.”

The win gave the Eagles a two-point lead over the second-place Uxbridge Bruins in the Orr division.

Clarington plays their final game of 2022 this Thursday when they host the third-place Little Britain Merchants at Garnet B. Rickard Arena. Puck drop is 7:25 p.m.

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Eagles fans…Santa Claus has confirmed he will be at Rickard before Thursday’s game! Join us starting at 6 p.m. to get your photo with the big, jolly guy. 5×7 photos with Santa are $10 (cash only).

When asked which member of the Eagles organization would be first in line to sit on Santa’s lap for a photo, defenseman Carter Watkins responded without hesitation, “Craig Wilcox will be the first in line, but you didn’t hear that from me!”

Are you still shopping for the perfect holiday gift for that hard-to-buy-for person? The Eagles have a special ticket package available for 8 home games. The cost is $50 (cash only) per person and is non-transferrable. This ticket package will be available to purchase at the arena during Thursday’s home game.

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