Paradise Hill Hawks’ defenceman Matthew Fletcher celebrates a second-period goal over the Lashburn Flyers last Saturday night in Lashburn as the Hawks secured a 2-0 series lead over the Flyers in the Sask Alta Hockey League (SAHL) championship series. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source Photos
Can the Hawks keep the momentum? Will the Flyers find a way to come back and win it all? Find out this weekend as the Hawks and Flyers go at it in Games 3 and 4 of the SAHL finals.
After near-identical regular-season records, the Flyers find themselves down two games to the Hawks with Game 3 scheduled in Paradise Hill tomorrow at 8 p.m. Game 4 will follow on Saturday night in Lashburn for an 8 p.m. puck drop.
Game 1, played last Friday in Paradise Hill, saw the Hawks come away with a tight 3-2 win before a big 4-1 win on Saturday in Lashburn.
With the series at 2-0, both teams know their role, now it’s time to execute.
“The team set the goal of being in the finals at the start of the season, each series win has amped up the excitement and drive for the guys to meet that goal,” said Hawks head coach Greg Young.
“Lashburn is a good team that isn’t done with us yet, we’re going to have to stick with the game plan to meet the goal of winning. This series has been really exciting and close with lots of physical play, speed and skill.”
For Flyers’ coach, Ryan Early, the secret sauce revolves around containing the Hawks’ defence.
Lashburn Flyers goaltender Landon Noyes uses his head to stop a puck on Saturday on home ice during SAHL finals.
“We knew coming in, that Paradise Hill has a great squad, and the D core they have is elite. These first two games, we’ve had to change our gameplay a bit … their D men are so smart, and with Paradise Hill, it starts at the back end,” said Early.
“It’s a matter of going out there and containing them and taking care of that each shift.”
The Flyers, who lit the lamp 149 times in 16 regular-season games, have solid goal scorers on the roster, but as previously stated, Early is well aware of the dominant Hawks defence.
“The guys in our room have played good hockey and know what we’re doing is working, but they also know there’s things we need to do better for Games 3 and 4 this weekend,” said Early.
“Hopefully we get the series tied back up by Saturday night.”
Looking back at their own regular-season record, Young explained overall, the Hawks had a very good season.
“We had solid goaltending and defence to help us out,” he said.
“It took the full team effort to get to the point we’re at.”
Young and Early also both noted the role the crowds have been playing throughout the series.
“The fan support has been awesome with larger crowds with each series win,” said Early.
“It’s fun for the team to play in front of great crowds and the close games also make it exciting for the fans.
“Looking forward to Friday night at home.”
“It’s unbelievable,” echoed Early.
“The fan support we’ve had post-COVID, I couldn’t even put a number on how many fans came out. We also had fans travelling with the team to road games.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Lashburn rink filled to capacity like that. It’s amazing for both communities and helping both facilities out financially; the atmosphere is amazing, it’s awesome.”
