Atom AE Hawks were circling at tournament

The novice-aged girls and coaches took the ice for the first time recently.

The Caledon Hawks Atom AE kicked off their season in fine style as a finalist in the Orangeville Earlybird Tournament.

In game one of the tournament, the Hawks entered the second period down 1-0 to Georgina. Jake Stronach opened the Hawks' scoring on passes from Kevin Pleasance and Zach Wilson. Going into the final minutes of the 3rd period with the Hawks down 2-1, Nicholas Amato put it between the pipes with assists from Pleasance and Daniel Fusco. Christian Ciraco stood tall in the Hawks' net. As the fans were on the edge of their seats, Quinn Richardson tied the game in the final three seconds with assists from Pleasance and Amato.

Game two against the Brampton Battalion found the Hawks saving their scoring for the 3rd period as the Hawks entered the 3rd down 2-0. Brampton scored again and then Richardson opened the scoring with great play-making from Stronach and Wilson. Daniel Fusco played hard to score with assists to Pleasance and Amato. New to the Hawks, Tyler Buth took revenge on his old Brampton friends with help from Steven Smythe. With smart play by rookie defencemen Mitchell Devins-Cann and Conner Catenaro, Richardson scored again to put the Hawks ahead 4-3. Brampton answered but Richardson got the hat-trick with assists again to Wilson and Stronach. Devins-Cann put in the insurance with a blistering shot on a pass from Smythe. Koby Stronach was the winning goaltender for a 6-4 Hawks win!

These are some of the atom-aged skaters who turned out for the first girls' hockey action Caledon.

Game three saw strong Hawks defensive play by Sarah Power, Callan McCorriston, Jake Hurrell, Francesco Lunardo, Devins- Cann, and Catenaro, as Caledon cruised to a 4-1 victory in hard-hitting win over Guelph.

Richardson opened the scoring with assists again to Devins-Cann and Cantenaro. Buth got the game winner with assists to the fast skating Amato and sharp angling Power. Richardson got his second series hattrick thanks to great set-ups by Wilson and Stronach on his second goal and Wilson on the third. Solid netminding by Ciraco.

Semifinal action saw the Hawks facing Georgina again with both teams playing hard to win a spot in the final. Amato opened the scoring with assists to the feisty Pleasance and digger Fusco. The 2nd period saw 5 goals by Georgina but the Hawks were still not going to give in. Defencemen Lunardo got the puck to Wilson who placed the pass to Richardson for the Hawks second goal. Diligent Stronach made the play over to Richardson who put the pass to Wilson for Hawk goal number three.

The 3rd period found Amato and Fusco with smart play again as they set up Pleasance for Hawk goal number 4. Then Amato tied the game on a pass from Richardson in the final minutes of the 3rd period. On to the shootout with Buth finding the back of the net again only to be answered by Georgina. Then on came the determined Catenaro earning the high pay on his Hawk contract with the winning goal in the net. Goalie Koby Stronach hung tough in net for Caledon. Hawks to the finals!

The final saw the Hawks in physical play against the Flamborough Sabres with Christian Ciraco in net. The Hawks' defence was strong and the goaltending great with a scoreless first period. Flamborough slipped one in during the second but Wilson answered back. With less than 2 minutes to go in the third, Flamborough came up with a well placed shot to win the tournament. Congratulations Sabres, but the Hawks are circling for next time!