In arguably what has to be considered the toughest schedule created, two six-game series in nine nights just after Christmas and what was the Eastern Swing resulted.
Surprisingly, the Hawks are still third in the US Division and fourth in the Western Conference with 25 wins after 44 games, and for the most part, they battled with every inch they could muster.
After initially winning handily versus Brandon and Regina, they came up just a bit short in Prince Albert and picked up a shootout win against Saskatoon. Overall, it was a mix of the good and bad, with the Hawks being in every game but one which we’ll talk about in a moment, which is both forgettable and ugly, and now we will return home. The rest of the schedule will feature all US teams down the stretch except for a single game in Vancouver, one in Kamloops, and a pair in Victoria, which will see them end regular season play March 22 against Seattle.
Leading up to the finality of the swing were games against the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos. The Warriors are taking it in the shorts after competing last year at the Memorial Cup. Like the Broncos, who traded heavily at the trade deadline last year, the Warriors have just crept over the double digits in wins at 10 with 27 losses and a very young team. With 2 players aged 20 and only 3 at 19, they are going to hit hard on rebuilding.
Against the Hawks, the Warriors surrendered five goals in the contest. Moose Jaw opened the scoring just over three minutes in, and it took the Hawks 9 and 5 minutes after that to take the lead. Carter Southern and Kade Ruedig gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Moose Jaw replied six and a half minutes into the second but saw the Hawks double that lead to 4-2 after 40 minutes, with Alex Weiermair and Kyle McDonough scoring just 50 seconds apart. Hudson Darby would be the lone goal scorer for the Hawks after Moose Jaw made a goaltending switch following the McDonough goal.
Shots favored the Hawks 34-28, and neither squad capitalized on the man advantage, with the Hawks scoring 0-4 and the Moose Jaw scoring 0-2.
The Hawks would complete the trip with a battle with the Broncos. Like the Warriors, who went hard at the trade deadline, the Broncos lost in the second round versus the Warriors The Broncos will feel the pinch next season by losing their 20-year-old players, including goaltender Reid Dyck, and having to pare down their soon-to-be 20-year-old players, which stand at 9. While the Broncos are within striking distance of the top Eastern Conference spot, they are in tough with the logjam that is the east.
After 12 games over the past 24 days, Father Time caught up with the Hawks. In the only time this season, home and away, the Hawks gave up a double-digit goal-scoring stream to the Broncos. It wasn’t lovely from the get-go. The Broncos netted two powerplay goals. Eight different Broncos scored in the contest. The Broncos led 3-0 at the end of one, scoring the two powerplay goals in the second and two regular strength goals to lead 7-0 before the Hawks’s Josh Zakreski finally broke the shutout 13 minutes into the third. The Broncos, who scored a few minutes prior to Zakreski’s mark, tacked on two more as the Hawks fizzled 10-1 under the pressure of the Swift Current Broncos. The shots overall were close, with the Hawks outshot by a 38-35 margin. The Broncos were a stellar 2-2 on the powerplay, and the Hawks were just 1-7, as the Broncos roughed up the Hawks a great deal in the contest. With the game out of reach, towards the end of the third, things got physical with 66 minutes called within 3 seconds from 19:22 to 19:25, including 6 10-minute misconducts with 104 penalty minutes called in the game.
Now that it’s over, the Hawks can concentrate on the final 24 regular season games and 53 points, well back of the firepower that is the Everett Silvertips, with 70 points after 43 games. The Hawks are five back against the Spokane Chiefs and four behind the Victoria Royals, who are granted second place as the BC Division leaders. The Hawks will reseed following the first round of the playoffs.
Pride Night awaits the game between the Hawks and Tri-City Americans. After a very hot start, the Americans faded to fourth in the US Division and seventh in the conference. The Americans have three 20-year-old players and six at 19 years old, so they won’t have as much blood shedding come the off-season.
There are 13 home games left out of the 24 before the playoffs, and they will start on March 28, 2025.
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