Peewee AE Hawks make semi-finals in Silver Stick

The Caledon peewee AE Hawks played well in Alliston during the recent Silver Stick tournament, demonstrating strong defensive and offensive teamwork skills.

They started the tournament with a game against Richmond Hill, winning 4-2 with goals by Jonas Cadham, Marco Olivieri, Matthew Mijackovic and Austin Pugliese. Assists were by Corey French, Deacon Strachan, and Tyler Schuster.

In the next game, they faced local rivals Brampton, ending the match in a 2-2 tie. Cadham scored both goals, assisted by French, Andrew Tee and Mitchell Bulloch.

The Hawks then faced a struggling team from Bradford. Goalie Max Hussey got the shut out, while Andrew Zunic notched a hat trick, and two goals each were collected by Cadham, Tyler Tiessen, French, and Tee. Schuster got one. Two assists each were recorded by Tee, Justin Core, Mijackovic and Pugliese, while Christopher Ferguson, Matthew Power, Connor Gordon and French each earned singles.

The team faced Brampton again in the semi-finals and started off well with goals in the second period by Tiessen from Olivieri, and French from Pugliese and Olivieri. But Brampton came back with a goal late in the second, then scored on a penalty shot in the third. They pulled ahead with a third goal with only two minutes to go in the game to win 3-2.

In league play, the peewee AE Hawks faced first place Oakville Rangers in Caledon East Jan. 7. Matthew Bartling scored early in the first period, as the boys came out hard, playing a strong, physical game to keep Oakville on their toes. Defence and offence demonstrated skilled passing; despite the Hawks being outshot, goalie Brandon Frail kept the score to a 1-1 tie.

Prior to that, the Hawks played the Arthur Vipers Jan. 4, winning 7-1 at home.

Goal scorers were Cadham and Andrew Tee, with two apiece, Bulloch, Zunic and Gordon. Mitchell Bulloch notched three assists, Schuster and French each had two, and one each came from Ferguson, Andrew Zunich, Bartling and Strachan.

The following day, the Hawks played a very tight game against Brampton Battalion to a packed crowd in the Caledon East Arena.

The teams were evenly matched, having tied in their last league game, and both played hard from beginning to end.

French got two goals, assisted by Cadham then Gordon, but the Battalion wouldn't give up, scoring in the third and keeping the pressure on. In the end, the Hawks' defensive plays and fast passing led them to a 2- 1 victory.

The third game was with the Flamborough Sabres, who were in top form after the holidays. Flamborough potted three goals before the middle of the second period, when Cadham scored on a breakaway and then a second in the third period, assisted by Bulloch. The Hawks fought hard, but couldn't come back, losing the game 4-2.

The Hawks played in Dundas Jan. 13, and it resulted in a 5-3 win. A pair of goals was scored by French, while singles came from Andrew Zunich, Mitchell Bulloch and AP player Patrick Bourne. Cadham had three assists, Bulloch a pair and singles were counted by Pugliese and Schuster.