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Tinker Hawks I skate past rival 7-4

  • Published
  • By John E. Banks
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE --  The Tinker Hawks I ice hockey team continued its winning ways with a 7-4 victory over the P-Men Jan. 20 at the Blazers Ice Centre.
   The Hawks got on the score sheet early with an unassisted goal by defenseman Chris Beatty. He intercepted a pass at center ice, skated in front of the P-Men's net and fired a quick wrist shot into the right corner for the 1-0 advantage.
   "Chris can definitely skate and he likes to score and show us forwards he can score," said James Behn, forward and head coach of the Hawks.
   The P-Men tied the score with 5:45 remaining in the first period when Justin Andreakes scored an unassisted goal after a Hawks turnover.
   The second period started with the same furious pace as the first. Forward Nick Kuc put in a rebound off a shot by forward Adam Henley giving the Hawks a 2-1 advantage early in the second period. The P-Men responded 2 minutes later as forward Mike Karake skated the length of the ice and put a shot past Hawks net minder Brad Poarch.
   With 3:31 remaining in the second period, Kuc received a cross ice pass from defenseman Luke Westerman and then fired a shot in the upper right corner of the net, giving the Hawks a 3-2 lead.
   The P-Men ended the scoring in the second period when defenseman John Synde rifled a blistering slap shot from the point to even the score at 3-3.
   The Hawks came out firing on all cylinders in the third period. At the 6:52 mark, defenseman Guy Wisenbach sent a slap shot toward the net and forward Todd Bayles pounced on the rebound and deposited the puck in the back of the net. Two minutes later, Hawks forward Brett Bilbe intercepted an errant pass at center ice and sent a wrist shot behind the P-Men net minder for the two-goal advantage.
   The goals kept coming for the Hawks. Kuc tipped in a shot by forward Luke Hadsall at the 12:10 mark of the third period. That was followed by a great individual effort by Bayles. He received a pass from Hadsall and faked out the goaltender and lifted a backhand into the net, giving the Hawks a 7-3 lead.
   "That shot was amazing and it should make the highlight reel on all the local and national sports broadcasts," said Behn.
   The P-Men scored a meaningless goal with 1 minute remaining in the third period when Andreakes scored on a blistering slap shot from the right point.
   "This was a great game to play in and it definitely was a great win by our team," said Behn.
   The stars of the game for the Hawks were Kuc and Bayles who scored two goals apiece. Poarch was spectacular in goal making several great saves. He stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced.
   The Hawks win raised their season record to 8-1, while the loss dropped the P-Men to 7-2.
   The Hawks next game is 7:15 p.m. Sunday against The Storm at the Artic Edge Ice Arena in Edmond.