Hawks rally for last minute victory over Storm Published April 24, 2008 By John E. Banks Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- The Tinker Hawks I hockey club had to wait unit the final minute of regulation play to break their five-game winless skid. They did so in exciting fashion 3-2 over The Storm in Oklahoma City Adult Hockey League Division II action at the Blazers Ice Centre on April 20. "We definitely need a victory tonight," Hawks goalie Brad Poarch said before the game. "Our team has been playing good hockey; however, we can play better. And, tonight we have several players down to injury. This is an important game for us to have." The Hawks were dominant in the first period as they peppered The Storm's goaltender Jason Schoonover with 15 shots. They controlled the play for the majority of the first period, but failed to score. The Storm got a power play goal from Justin Fine to take the lead at the 11:19 mark of the second period. The Hawks responded just 22 seconds later as forward Luke Hadsall put in a rebound goal off a shot by Nic Kuc. Defenseman Adam Henley also assisted on the game-tying goal. The Storm took a 2-1 lead at 5:10 of the third period as Fine tipped in shot by James Farquarsen. The Hawks took over from there. They were the dominant team for the rest of the third period. After a timeout at the 2:26 mark, the Hawks pulled Poarch for the extra attacker and it paid off. Defenseman Chris Beatty took a cross-ice pass from forward Brett Bilbe and deposited a quick shot in the Storm's net tying the score at 2-2. With just 25 seconds left in the game, James Behn picked up the puck, skated in and flicked a quick wrist shot over the goaltender to give the Hawks the 3-2 victory. "We were sluggish tonight," Behn said. "This was a gritty and hard fought victory and will give us some momentum as we near the playoffs." The three stars of the game were Kuc, who had two assists, Miguel Lopez and Behn, who scored the game-winning goal. "I think we found a new line of Kuc, Bilbe and Hadsall," Lopez said. "They played inspired hockey tonight. The passing and teamwork they displayed was awesome." The win improves the Hawks' record to 14-6-1. They return to ice against the Canadians A team on April 27. The time and location of the contest is yet to be determined. For more information, visit the Hawks Web site at http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=tinkerhawkshockey&s=hockey&t=c