Blackhawks in a funk
It has been a trying and disappointing 48 hours for the Thorold Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks, coming off an exciting, come-from-behind victory over the Pelham Panthers last week, were hoping the dramatic rally could be the starting point of something good.
Instead, the Blackhawks dropped their next two games by a combined 11-2 margin, including a 6-1 loss to the Niagara Falls Canucks in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference game Monday night in Thorold.
The loss comes on the heels of an equally disappointing effort in a 5-1 defeat the night before against the struggling Welland Junior Canadians.
“Yeah, really disappointed,” Thorold coach/general manager Scott Barnes said. “I honestly don’t have much to say. You know, both games we had really good starts and were playing well and a hit a little bit of a rut.”
Barnes said the Blackhawks’ recent woes have more to do with execution than work ethic.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of effort,” he said. “We’re making some big mistakes at big times and they end up costing you. When you’re on a slide or in a slump and things aren’t going well those usually end up in the back of your net. A fragile team gets a goal against and you keep sinking.”
The Blackhawks will have plenty of time to practise with their next game not until Sunday afternoon in Pelham.
Barnes said he and his staff will do some soul searching for the best way to put that time to use.
“Those are the things as coaches we have got to find out,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Barnes feels a kick in the pants might not be the best way to approach the situation.
“You don’t want to beat them to death, you want to be on their side,” he said. “At the end of the day, your players have to know that the coaches are with them and we’re all pulling the rope together.
“As a coaching staff we have to be better. I have to be better, we all have to be better, and hopefully that translates into practices and then into games.”
The loss leaves Thorold with a 2-5-1 mark after eight games, still a small sample size.
“You just can’t dig this hole too deep,” Barnes said. “That was the message. We’re putting ourselves in a pretty big hole here and we have a lot of time to climb back out, but we have to start that climb sooner than later.”
Hawk talk: Harrison Goan, Ethan Torkos and Liam Loftus were scratched for Thorold.
STATS PACK
Canucks 6 Hawks 1
Youngs Insurance Brokers Inc. Player of the Game: Niagara Falls forward Matthew Riva with two goals and an assist.
For the Niagara Falls Canucks: Riva 2 (10,11); Tanner McEachern (4), Ben Felicetti (3); Carson Eden (2); Andrew Newport (1).
For the Thorold Blackhawks: Jack Sykes (3).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Thorold on Riley George (18), by Niagara Falls on Nico Balice (35), Noah Fortuna (19); Power plays: Thorold 1-for-6, Niagara Falls 2-for-8; Penalty minutes: Thorold 74, Niagara Falls 46.
Up next: The Blackhawks are in Pelham Sunday 2:45 p.m. and home to the St. Catharines Falcons next Monday. The Canucks host the Caledonia Corvairs Friday.
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