A hot and humid Sunday afternoon was the setting for the matchup of Can-Am rivals Onondaga and Newtown. Both teams played left it all on the floor as the Redhawks held on for a 10-9 win.
The first period saw both goalkeepers in stellar form keeping much of the first half scoreless. Once Newtown beat Onondaga keeper Ross Bucktooth for an early 1-0 lead, the Redhawk stickwork began to work its magic in firing off three consecutive goals by Jeremy Thompson, Drew Bucktooth and Dustin Hill. Newtown closed out the period with a goal of their own to close out the period with the Redhawks in the lead 3-2.
The second period saw the action get just heated as the temperature outside. The Redhawk powerplay of Wade Bucktooth, Brett Bucktooth, Pete Benedict, Drew and Jeremy took full advantage of the extra attacker in helping the Redhawks build a 7-5 lead at the end of the second period.
The final period saw the bounces go the Redhawks way. The ball seemed to find the Redhawk crosses in loose ball scrums and bounce shots found their way past the Newtown keeper to build a 9-7 lead while goal keeper Ross Bucktooth stopped repeated fast break opportunities with outstanding saves. Meanwhile on the offensive side of zone, the Redhawks were being stymied as the Golden Eagle defense stiffened. As the 30 second shot was about to expire, Drew Bucktooth fired a shot into the leg padding of the Newtown keeper which somehow worked its way between the padding and the pipe to cross the goal line for a crucial tally. Leading 10-7, Newtown was able to add 2 goals of their own but the final minutes of the game saw Onondaga able to handle the pressure and win the regular series between the two clubs.
With the win the Redhawks record improves to 10-1 and travel to 4th place Pinewoods on Saturday July 3rd.