Hawks Battle 8th Ranked Homestead to 2-2 Tie

January 31, 2012 — On Tuesday night the Warhawks traveled to the Ozaukee Ice Center to do battle with the highly potent Homestead Highlanders. Trailing 2-0 late in the second period, the Hawks fought back and earned a 2-2 tie against the states 8th ranked team.

A Homestead goal at 5:02 was the only scoring in the first period. Homestead outshot the Hawks by a margin of 9-8 for the period.

In the second period, the Highlanders stretched the lead to 2-0 on a score from 2011 all-state forward Peter Schmitz, who with the goal, tallied his 53rd point of the year.

The score remained 2-0 until Nick Peterson put the Hawks on the board with 2:33 remaining in the second. The goal was set up when Colin Nowicki, blanketed by a Homestead defender, skated down the slot and passed to Peterson who converted from inside the right circle. Peterson, who was also under duress, was able to create just enough space between himself and the defender by pulling back slightly just before releasing the shot for the score. Brett Staplefeldt also assisted on the goal. For the period, AHS outshot the Highlanders 10-8.

At 5:59 of the third period the Warhawks tied the game on a goal from Jared Johnson. Johnson, going to the net, nabbed a carom of a Garrett Opay shot from the point and tucked it in the bottom right corner of the net.

Although the remainder of the third stanza was scoreless, there were several exciting moments. Both teams battled hard and made several great defensive plays. With just :32 seconds left in the game, Hawks goalie Tim Routes made a nice glove save on a Highlander shot. After a time out, Homestead won the ensuing faceoff. However, the Hawks got the puck back. Johnson skated down the ice from deep in the defensive zone and fired a hard shot from the left circle in the attack zone that just missed the mark, ricocheting off the Highlander goalies blocker with :11 seconds remaining.

The overtime stanza was again marked by hard skating great defensive effort by both squads. Neither team was able to convert, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. In the extra stanza, AHS had a 5-4 shots on goal advantage. For the game, the Hawks outshot the Highlanders 32-30.

Hawks coach Mike Watt was pleased by the play and effort of his team and felt it was one of their best performances of the year. Coach Watt praised goalie Tim Routes who stopped 28 of 30 Homestead shots, and defensemen Tristan Rostagno, Sam Shultz, Garrett Stadler and Sam Dvorak who were instrumental in helping limit the Highlanders to two goals. The high powered Homestead offense entered the game with two players with 50 points or more, and 2 others with 40 points or more.

With the tie, the Hawks record is now 9-9-1. Homestead, who came in on an eight game wining streak, now stands at 15-4-1 on the season.

Hawks Storm Past Thunder 6-1 with Huge Second Period

January 28, 2012 — The Arrowhead Warhawks, aided by a five goal scoring barrage in the second period, defeated the Kenosha Thunder 6-1 Saturday night at the Mullett Ice Center.

The Hawks scored at 3:54 of the first period when Garrett Opay, who was skating near the bottom of the right circle, passed to Tristan Rostagno who converted on a shot from the point. AHS led 1-0 after one.

AHS unleashed a five goal scoring outburst in the second period that essentially put the game away. Nick Peterson, who had three points on the night, scored on a power play goal when he fired a shot from the right circle that sailed past the left shoulder of the Thunder goalie into the net at 4:30. Brett Staplefeldt assisted on the goal. Colin Nowicki, assisted by Peterson, scored a power play goal at 7:26 when his shot from the front of the left circle rang off the top pipe into the net. Kenosha responded with a goal at 8:38 to make it a 3-1 game.

The Hawks closed a big second period with three unanswered goals in a four minute span. Sam Schultz, assisted by Rostagno and Johnson, scored when he ripped a slap shot from just inside the blue line into the top right corner of the net at 13:47. Opay then scored at 15:17 of the second. Jared Johnson maneuvered along the far right side of the goal line and hit Opay in front of the left side of the net and Opay converted for the score. Peterson concluded the scoring for the Hawks with a deke move and unassisted goal at 16:08 put the Hawks up 6-1.

The AHS special teams performed well in successfully killing all three Kenosha power plays, and converting on two of three power plays of their own on offense.

Winning goalie Tim Routes stopped 11 shots. For the game the Hawks had a 29-12 shots on goal advantage.

Hawks Fall to Stars in Overtime

January 24, 2012 — The Hawks dropped a Classic 8 Conference tilt to the Brookfield Stars 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday night at the Ponds Ice Center. AHS clawed back from a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead before eventually falling to the Stars in the extra stanza.

Brookfield opened the scoring with a goal at 10:20 of the first period. The Hawks answered at the 12:11 mark on a goal from Brett Staplefeldt, who was assisted by Colin Nowicki and Tristan Rostagno.

The Stars moved out to a two goal advantage just 2 minutes into the second period with goals at :44 seconds and 1:56; the second score being a power play goal. Thereafter, AHS reeled off three unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead at the second intermission. The senior line of Mike Adams, Jared Johnson, and Garrett Opay inflicted the damage.

At 5:19 of the second, Adams crashed the goal and took the rebound of a Johnson shot and buried it in the left side of the net. The Hawks tied it at three apiece at 9:26 when Johnson went top shelf, left side with a wrister from the far side of the right circle.

The Hawks closed the scoring for the second period at the 14:51 mark when they executed a three man rush to perfection while on the power play. Opay took the puck down the right side boards into the attack zone where he passed to Johnson who was between the circles; Johnson fed Adams, who was driving towards the left side of the net, and Adams converted from point-blank range to put AHS up 4-3.

In the third period the teams battled to a stalemate until Brookfield tied the game at four with a goal with 3:42 remaining. The Hawks went on the power play with 2:55 left, but were unable to capitalize.

In the overtime, Brookfield struck quickly with the game winning goal coming just :33 seconds into the extra period. The victorious Stars were led by 2011 All-State defenseman Matt Fosdick, who scored both the tying and game winning goals, and tallied 4 points on the night.

For the game, the Hawks outshot the Stars by a margin of 26-19. AHSs overall record now stands at 8-9 and 2-2 in the conference. Brookfield moves to 11-7 on the season and 4-1 in the conference.

The Hawks next game will be a Classic 8 encounter against the Kenosha Thunder on Saturday, January 28. Game time is 3:15 p.m. at the Mullett Ice Center.

Late Heroics Lead Hawks to 3-2 Victory

January 14, 2012 — The Warhawks pulled out a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Oregon Panthers in the Mullett Invitational on Saturday night. After falling behind 2-1 in the third period, the Hawks scored two goals in a 39 second span during the final two minutes of the game to gain the victory.

The Hawks controlled the puck, the pace of game and played lock down defense for the better part of the first two periods. However, despite outshooting the Panthers by a wide margin in the first two periods, AHS could only muster a 1-0 lead at the end of two.

Oregon hung around and did not give up. As time wore on, and it remained a one goal game, the Panthers gained confidence and momentum. The Panthers tallied two goals in the first six minutes of the final stanza to gain a 2-1 lead. That set stage for the amazing finish to the game.

After a scoreless first period, the Hawks got on the board at 3:07 of the second with a goal from Mike Adams. Garrett Opay took the puck down the boards on the left side into the attack zone and deftly slid a back hand pass to Adams who converted while driving down the middle towards the net.

At 1:18 of the third, the Panthers scored a power play goal to tie the game. Oregon then took the lead on a short handed goal at the 5:56 mark. The next nine minutes of the game were scoreless.

Trailing 2-1 with 2:04 remaining in the game, AHS called a time out. Coming out of the time out, the Hawks pulled their goalie and lined up for the face off on the right circle in their offensive zone with 6 skaters. AHS center Jared Johnson battled and controlled the puck off the face off. Johnson found Nick Peterson, who shook free in front of the left side of the net. Peterson took the pass and tied the score on a goal with 1:59 remaining in the game.

Johnson, the Hawks senior captain, put the finishing touches on a big night with a game winning goal with 1:20 remaining. The goal was set up by an outlet pass from goalie Parker McColl to Opay who was at the blue line near the left side boards. Opay passed to Johnson near center ice. Johnson then weaved his way around a couple of Panther defenders, broke free, raced toward the net and put a back hander through the five hole for the winning score.

For the game, the AHS had a 30-11 shots on goal advantage. With the victory, the Hawks finished the Mullett Invitational with a 2-1 record, good for second place. Tournament champion Verona finished 3-0 and defeated Waukesha 6-1 in the other tourney game played Saturday night.

The Hawks will now have a little down time before returning to the ice on January 24 when they will travel to The Ponds to face Classic 8 Conference foe Brookfield. Game time is 6:30 p.m.

Second Ranked Verona Upends Hawks in Mullett Invite

January 13, 2012 — The highly acclaimed Verona Wildcats downed the Warkhawks 4-1 in the second round of the Mullet Invitational Tournament. The Wildcats, now 15-1, and ranked number 2 in the state in this weeks wisconsinhockeyprep.com poll, prevailed despite a spirited battle and strong effort by the Hawks.

Verona had a strong first period and jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. However, the Hawks showed great resolve and adjusted well to the pace and tempo of the game over the final two periods which saw each team score one goal apiece. In the final two stanzas, the home crowd at the Mullett Ice Center was treated to a great deal of fast action, hard hitting and strong defense.

The Wildcats struck early with goals at 3:16 and 3:29 of the first period. Verona added a power play goal at 13:50 to go up 3-0 at the first break.

After the intermission, AHS came out and applied pressure on the Wildcats throughout the second period. The Hawks cut the lead to 3-1 when Tristan Rostagno drove to the net and scored on an unassisted power play goal at 3:18. The goal was initially waved off. After a lengthy conference, the officials ruled that indeed a goal was scored, and that the net was dislodged after the puck crossed the goal line.

The third period was marked by strong skating and good pressure by the Hawks. Although AHS outshot Verona 10-5 for the period, they were unable to convert any of their chances to goals. Verona tallied the final score of the game on a power play goal at the 12:15 mark.

Hawks goalie Parker McColl made several good saves and stopped 26 of the 30 Wildcat shots he faced. McColl and his Warhawk teammates held the Wildcats high octane offense, which came into the game averaging eight goals per game, to just one goal over the final two periods. For the game, Verona outshot AHS by a margin of 30-19.

In the other Mullett tourney tilt played on Friday night, Oregon defeated Waukesha 2-1 in overtime. On Saturday, the Mullett Invitational will conclude with two games. At 5:15 p.m. Waukesha will play Verona, and at 7:15 p.m. AHS will face-off against Oregon. Both games will be played at the Mullett Ice Center. [Game Sheet]