The Red Hawks boys hockey team held their own against the league-best St. Peter Saints but could not hold on in the dying minutes, losing 4-2 at home Feb. 19.
The Hawks kept even with the Saints, holding them to a 2-2 tie until late in the third period. But the Peterborough team went ahead by a goal with less than two minutes remaining and would score again shortly afterwards to ensure the Haliburton loss. The defeat in the Hawks final game of the regular season put them at a 6-6-1 record, good enough to qualify for playoffs.
Coach Jason Morissette said it was not a negative game, adding he was encouraged the team played its systems well against a strong team.
“They’ve (St. Peter Saints) been beating most single-A schools by five goals, so I think we did great today,” he said. “We had gotten away from the game we were playing. Today, we were kind of back to playing the system that will help us have success.”
He added the team ran out of gas at the end but the game was a good learning experience.
Defenceman Isaac Little said if they can maintain the level of play they had in the game, they should be able to advance.
“If we stick to our systems the coaches talked to us and preached all year, we’ll be able to get into the Kawartha tournament for sure and maybe have a shot at COSSA,” Little said.
Due to Campbellford being unable to field a team for a playoff game this week, Haliburton will get an automatic berth into the Kawartha Championship tournament March 3.
“Our players look forward to the opportunity to compete,” Morissette said.
Little said the team has come a long way since the start of the year, especially given the game cancellations due to labour unrest.
“We’ve come a long way and gotten a lot better and worked really hard all season,” Little said. “Hopefully, going to make a bit of a playoff push.”
