SALEM, N.H. – Just how good was Simon Hawkes on Wednesday afternoon?
The freshman, as he has done a couple times already this year, kept Timberlane/Pelham hockey in it, coming up with save after acrobatic save – 52 in all! – and his Owl teammates took care of the rest, skating to a rock-solid, 1-1, overtime tie with Division I foe, Portsmouth/Newmarket/Sanborn.
“He’s just a very good goaltender,” said Owls coach Bill Brown, whose club is now 1-0-1 in overtime games and is right in the thick of the Division II standings at 2-4-1 overall.
“Side to side movements … he’s always in control of his body, always in position, very calm. He doesn’t go too far one way or the other. He just plays the position solidly and he’s confident.”
Each team scored in the second period with junior assistant captain Arturo Saldarriaga scoring an unassisted goal for the Owls.
Outshot 31-15 through two periods, Timberlane was under siege in the third. Hawkes just said no, stopping all 16 shots that came his way, including a couple of beauties.
“I love it, definitely,” said Hawkes about the barrages of shots sent his way in this one. “I love stopping the puck. I hate the boring games with only a few shots.”
The overtime session was much more in the Owls’ favor, and despite some tired legs, Timberlane had its chances.
“In the overtime, we definitely stepped it up. It was down the other most of the time,” said Hawkes. “That was awesome. We’re running two lines, and they’re still skating hard out there. They’re playing so much every game, it’s got to be tough.”
The stalemate with a D-I opponent has to lift the Timberlane spirits as the heart of the season unfolds.
“It’s a really good feeling. We came into this game without our captain (Cole Rego, injured thumb, lost for season), that was definitely a big hit,” said Hawkes. “But we bounced back and played really well.”