Blackhawks looking good as they start their year

The Caledon Blackhawks minor atom Selects have been feeling good about the way 2007 ended, and they have continued to build on their improved play.

The Blackhawks ended 2007 by playing some of their best hockey of the year. They also chose this occasion to share their fortunate situation of having great financial support from all their sponsors. They used the proceeds from their December 50-50 draws, along with donations from team members, to purchase two Nintendo DS Lites and a number of games. These were donated to the Caledon Community Services Santa Fund so a couple of less fortunate kids could have something special under the tree at Christmas.

They were back at work Jan. 5, with the first game of the year taking them down the road to Brampton to meet the Spitfires. After a bit of a slow start, during which goaltender Steven Nelson blanked the Spitfires, the Blackhawks got it going and put together one of their best team efforts of the season.

Playing an aggressive forechecking game, the Blackhawks stayed on top of the play, controlling it for most of the game. They scored twice in the first period, at the mid-point and with 54 seconds left, and never gave the Spitfires the chance to get back in the game. Steve Luongo scored first, from John Sopinka, followed by Chris Hunter's unassisted goal.

Their strong play continued in the second, as they scored their third goal in the first two minutes of the frame, when Eric Lowry's wrist shot found the corner. Luongo drew the assist.

The period was underscored by the Blackhawks' tremendous team effort. They applied constant pressure on the Spitfires with the added defensive support of their goaltending duel of Nelson and Russ McCanna when needed.

The final period began 3- 0, but the Blackhawks wanted more. They came out hungry, wanting to put the Spitfires away early, and were rewarded for their efforts. Michael Upshall's shot, on a pass from Lowry, found the back of the net at 1:46 of the period, giving them a 4-0 lead. To their credit the Spitfires fired back, scoring less than a minute later. That motivated the Blackhawks to take it up a notch and they did, not allowing the Spitfires to get any closer than that. The game ended 4-1 for the Blackhawks and with it the great feeling that best was yet to come in 2008 for them.

The coach's pick for player of the game was Chris Hunter.

The Blackhawks would like to send a special thank you all the player sponsors. The following are a few: MARS Canada Inc., PROBUILT by Michael Upshall, Blackmont Capital - Allan Nelson, Karen Wilcox - Royal LePage RCR Realty, Chic's Auto Repair, and Caledon Phoenix.