Hawkseye View: Everything and the Kitchen sink

SATURDAY 17/03/18

STREATHAM REDHAWKS VS SWINDON WILDCATS

NIHL SOUTH DIVISION 1

PLAY OFF QUARTER FINAL

Pre Game

So we begin first by offering our congratulations to the Basingstoke Bison on winning the NIHL South 1 league title last weekend.

With the business of the league wrapped up the previous weekend with back to back defeats, the Redhawks now turned their attention to the business of the play offs. Making their way to the High Road on a snowy Saturday night were the Swindon Wildcats.

The Wildcats were fresh off breaking a long trophy drought the night before having defeated the Basingstoke Bison to lift the Autumn Cup, so also our congratulations to the Wildcats on that. Encounters this season between the Wildcats and Hawks at the High Road has been interesting affairs. The Hawks had been one of the first NIHL classic sides to claim the scalp of an ex EPL side against the Wildcats earlier this season at home, after losing out by only one goal only a few weeks previously.

However when the Hawks had traveled to Swindon this season, they had really struggled. So with Swindon holding the home leg advantage the aim of the game was simple for coach Cornish's teams. Concede as few as possible and score as many as they could to limit any damage the next day.

The Hawks would look to exploit as much speed as possible to out pace a larger more physical Swindon side. For Swindon the game plan would need to be clogging the neutral zone and forcing that speed up the boards where the Hawks puck carriers would be susceptible to physical play.

1st Period

The Redhawks would win the opening face off, but it would be a very tentative start from both sides, with probing attacks being made up the boards from the Hawks while Swindon looked to catch the Hawks off guard on the break and take the puck up the middle lane.

Despite this tentative back and forth play, Birbraer would force a stunning save from Colclough at 3 mins with the puck seemingly impacting the net minders body and running across his chest and away. Going the other way the Swindon defense was forcing the Hawks in to a corner war, lacking in comparative size the Hawks were repeatedly coming up on the losing end of this.

Soon however the Hawks found a way through and Siagris, and Farn would both find themselves with golden chances to get the Hawks on the board but neither could find that finish.

5 minutes in Ryan Webb would give the Wildcats the first powerplay of the game, after an attempted lofty clearing attempt went out and over the glass resulting in a delay of game penalty.

The Wildcats Powerplay would dominate possession, and the puck movement of the Cats did a good job of stretching the usually well disciplined Hawks PK, the best chance would fall to Birbraer who's shot would be gloved by Colclough.

The Hawks would kill the penalty successfully, despite sustained pressure and few chances to clear the puck or make a change. Seeking to get on the board the Hawks would push forward, but found that most chances were being forced high in the zone at the face off circles as the Cats D denied them any route to the net

It would be the Wildcats though that would break the deadlock with a delayed Powerplay goal. Birbraer and Nell would get mixed up in a battle for the puck behind the net with Gregory and Farn. Eventually Birbraer would come lose with the puck in front of net and it was only a slash from a Hawks player that stopped him scoring. But it wasn't enough to stop Nell scoring after collecting the lose puck. and it was 1-0 Wildcats

2nd Period

The Redhawks would win the face off to start the second and once again attempt to use speed up the boards to generate chances. The Wildcats while quite passive in the first period would now ramp up the physical play in order to stop this and try to take control of the game.

Farn and Webb would combine for the best chance of the opening minute with Webb firing from range but Marr able to save it. Ryan Watt had been attempting to crash in and there was some afters as a result.

The second period would see the neutral zone become turn over central with both sides attempting to use this to their own advantage, Floyd Taylor would seek to continue the Cats game plan of taking the center lane by skating in unopposed before firing it in to Colclough's glove

But it was another turnover that would lead to the Wildcats extending their lead, Jordan Kelsall would intercept the puck in the neutral zone, and get a pass to Max Birbraer who would find Aaron Nell out in space, Nell would skate in and slot the puck home to make it 2-0.

The Hawks looked to retaliate, with Andreas Siagris leading the charge. Repeatedly trying to make something happen with Aiden Doughty and Alex Sampford in support. Skating in from the blue line Siagris would take the puck past the entire Wildcats line but would fire wide. This then followed by Brendan Baird going close.

The saying goes, in hockey. The worst lead to hold is a 2 goal lead, you either go all out to get another goal and risk conceding, or you sit back and soak it up. With Renny Marr playing a blinder the Wildcats decided to sit back and control the game. Every Redhawks forward advance was met with deflection at the blue line as the Cats choked off the Hawks offence.

3rd Period

The Hawks would begin the 3rd urgently looking to get a goal, the early going would see Farn setting up Sampford in the slot who's point blank range blast would be directed straight at Renny Marr. Siagris would seek to force home the rebound but to no avail.

This would then be followed by Doughty making a play, that had it gone in would be goal of the year candidate as he broke down the wing alone, and with seemingly the entire Wildcats D cutting to the front of the net and it was only the combination of Sam Godfrey and Renny Marr that stopped him scoring.

The Powerplay off this would lead to a sustained period of Redhawks dominance, as coach Nell decided to opt for soaking up the pressure with a 2 goal lead. Watt, Farn and Carr would all come close. However despite the Hawks forwards forcing the Cats to collapse deep with heavy net pressence most attempts were from range, and going wide.

At one point it looked like Swindon would add a third as Brendan Baird fanning on a puck would lead to Jan Kostal breaking away only for Colclough to keep the deficit at 2 as he gloved the puck.
Webb and Carr would seek to half that deficit going the other way with Carr getting a shot off from a tight angle but this would fly up and out off of Renny Marr.

With time running out the Hawks would throw everything and the kitchen sink at the Wildcats looking to get at least one goal on the board. Playing the high fore check to try and do this, Jacob Ranson would force a turn over that would leave him 1 on 1 with Marr but as was the story of the night for Hawks players the puck was fired wide.

The final minutes of the game would be frantic as the Hawks would see multiple chances cleared and saved by Marr and the Wildcats defense. Short of pulling Colclough the Hawks tried every trick in the book and saw pucks cleared off the line and out of the crease multiple times

But in the end the buzzer would sound and the final score would be Wildcats 2 Hawks 0

Post Game

Hats off to the Wildcats they came in and played a perfect road game and stuck to the game plan they had coming in. They choked off the neutral zone and forced the Hawks to go wide looking for a break out. Renny Marr stood on his head and while Aaron Nell was the man with the game winning goals, it was Renny Marr's series of incredible saves that denied any goals for the Hawks that won the game and put the Wildcats in pole position going in to Sundays second leg. For that Renny Marr was more than deserving of his man of the match beers

The Redhawks on the other hand suffered from a lack of finish on the night. It was once again a matter of quantity over quality. Nearly all of the shots generated were either sighted by Renny Marr or were through too much traffic to make it to the net.
Andreas Siagris was the most deserving recipient of the man of the match beers as he had been the driving force behind the Hawks offence all night, and both personally had many golden chances to get the Hawks on the board as well as creating many chances.

A 2 goal lead is not an insurmountable obstacle, but considering the Hawks have lost all their games in Swindon heavily this season the odds are not in their favor. But then this is play off hockey who knows what could happen in the next 60 minutes.