Minor midget AA Hawks continue to roll

The Caledon minor midget AA BFCPlace.com Hawks have continued to build on their strong start in tri-county play this season.

After a 6-1-0 start, the boys recently found themselves at Mayfield arena up against a competitive St. Catharines team. The first period was scoreless into the dying minutes, when Jonathan Batten put the Hawks onto the board from Jonathan Monti and Tyler Nutzenberger. The boys built on the lead in the second on a goal by Giancarlo Mellace from Patrick Francella and Nick Roberti, and Lee Panchuk added another before the period ended from Mellace and Matt Verdone.St. Catharines struggled back to within one by the end of the third but it was too little too late as the boys took the game 3- 2.Goalie Anthony Fera had a solid game between the pipes.

The next game found the boys back at Mayfield, facing the squad from Orangeville.Orangeville got off to a quick start early in the first, but the boys responded quickly with a goal by Andrew Dominey assisted by Batten and Matt Somers, followed by a goal by Monti assisted by Ryan Huggins.Batten found the net in the second from Somers and Matt Verdone and a few minutes later Robert Silvestri netted one from Monti as the second period ended 4- 2.The teams exchanged goals in the third, with Mellace scoring from Batten and Matt Forer, and the boys went on to take the game 5-3.Goalie Andrew Gabriele had a strong game in the net.

For their next outing, the boys were on the road to Oakville.They opened the scoring in the first on a pretty goal by Silvestri assisted by Panchuk and Roberti, followed by a goal by Mellace assisted by Panchuk and Alex Schittenhelm.In front of solid goaltending from Fera, the boys were able to eke out another victory by a score of 2-1.

Nov. 7 found the boys in Orangeville for a return match with the Flyers.Goalie Gabriele made a number of key saves in the first and the period ended scoreless.In the second period, Monti finally found the back of the net from Silvestri and Dominey.In the third, Orangeville battled back to tie but the boys fought back with a goal by Somers from Francella and Batten followed by a goal by Dominey from Mellace to take the game 3-1.

The boys then returned to Mayfield for a match with Oakville. Oakville came out strong and were up 2-0 after the first period.In the second Silvestri found the net from Huggins and Monti, and in the third Mellace got one from Monti and Francella followed by a goal by Schittenhelm from Mellace as the boys went on to tie the Oakville team 3-3.Goalie Fera kept the boys in the game making a number of key saves early on.

Nov. 12 saw the boys make the trek to St. Catharines.Dominey netted an unassisted goal in the first and added a second goal in the second, assisted by Batten.Also in the second, Silvestri added an unassisted goal and the boys went on to a convincing 3-0 victory.Goalie Gabrielle stopped all comers in this one earning the shutout.

A week later the boys were in Stoney Creek for their first match up with the Jr. Warriors.The score was tied at one apiece after the first period, with Panchuk scoring from Schittenhelm and Mellace. In the second, Panchuk netted another one from Schittenhelm. Dominey added to the total from Huggins and Daniel Junik and the second period ended tied at three apiece.The third period was scoreless until Monti found the back of the net in the last minute from Forer and Panchuk and the boys went on to take the game 4-3.

The boys finished the first half of the season with an impressive 12-1-1 record - the best in their tri-county division.

Thanks to coach Elliot Forer, trainer Alex Gunn, Assistants Sam Fera and Rob Roberti, and manager Susan Batten for their efforts keeping the team on track.