Atom AAs begin season with tourney victory

The atom AA Caledon Hawks took the championship at the Flamborough Early Bird Tournament. Shown are (front) goalies Spencer Boyd and Joseph D'Amico, (middle) Sean Nottle, Christian Hauck, Nicky Curro, Jordan Bokla, Conner Morro, Jesse Fir, Lukas Richardson, (back) trainer Mike Morro, Jordan Kreller, Scott Dominey, Laura Magliocchi, Tyler Whitten, head coach Dan Whitten, Justin Donatelli, Kyle Graham, trainer Larry Richardson. Missing from Photo was assistant coach Michael Bokla.

After a late August team camp and a handful of preseason skates there was much anticipation to see this year's Caledon Hawks atom AA squad in game action.

The '1997 Hawks' participated in the Flamborough Early Bird Tournament the weekend of Sept. 14 and came away with the championship, leaving players, coaches, and fans looking positively forward to the season ahead.

The atom AAs met host team Flamborough in game one on Friday, having to fight back twice to get a tie score. Christian Hauck scored the first Caledon goal, set up nicely by rookie winger Kyle Graham. Jordan Bokla tied the game in the third.

Friday afternoon the Hawks took on Ancaster Avalanche. After a scoreless first period, Nando Sirianni put his team on the scoreboard in the second, assisted by defenceman Jordan Kreller. Conner Morro scored the Hawks winning goal, from a pass from Hauck. Score 2-1 Caledon.

An early morning game on Saturday against the TNT team was a close one. Final score was 1-0 Caledon with Hauck getting the only goal of the game.

With the 5-point game system the undefeated Hawks secured first place in their pool and were headed to the semifinals.

The Georgetown Raiders met a confident Caledon squad Sunday morning. Half-way through the first period rookie Scott Dominey received a pass from Hauck, and sunk a hard shot past the Raider's goaltender. Both teams played the majority of the second period shorthanded with numerous penalty calls. Late in the third, Sean Nottle got his first goal of the season after Laura Magliocchi kept the puck in the Georgetown zone with a strong blue line shot. Two minutes later, Nicky Curro put in a backhand goal. Assists went to Hauck and Sirianni. Goalie Joseph D'Amico earned himself the Caledon shutout.

The championship game was against the also undefeated Brampton Battalion team. Always a rivalry, the teams appeared to be quite even with no scoring in the first period. On a Caledon power play in the second period, Bokla scored the first goal assisted by Magliocchi. Brampton tied the game in the third but with all five Caledon skaters rushing the net, Jesse Fir kept the play in tight to allow Bokla to once again fire the puck past the opposing goalie. The Caledon team dominated the late third period play, winning the game 2-1 and taking the championship title.

Sharp goaltending by D'Amico in all five tourney games was a key to Caledon's success and team play improved steadily with each game as new linemates became more familiar with each other. The team is wishing goalie Spencer Boyd a quick recovery from surgery to get him into the lineup. The 2007-08 Atom AA team's coaching staff are head coach Dan Whitten, assistant coach Michael Bokla, trainers Larry Richardson and Mike Morro and team manager Lynda Whitten. Parents and team members would like to thank this season's generous main sponsors, Tri-Star Landscaping and Just in Time Tool & Die.