Sea-Hawks look to make late playoff push against Tigers
The Memorial Sea-Hawks (3-5-2) will welcome the Dalhousie Tigers (5-2-3) to St. John's this weekend for a 2-game set, as they try to make a late push for the playoffs this weekend against the 4th place Tigers.
The Hawks come into the weekend after dropping two tough games against the two top teams in the AUS, Cape Breton and St. FX. The Hawks will look to bounce back against another formidable opponent in the Tigers.
The Tigers, on the other hand, come into St. John's after beating Mount Allison 3-0. The Tigers had a rounded attack against Mount Allison, as they had three different players score a goal in the match.
Dalhousie have a very well balanced attack, led by Enrico Rodriguez with 4 goals. The Tigers also have 6 more players with at least two goals on their roster. Memorial will have to play some well-rounded defence in order to come away with two crucial victories this weekend.
The Sea-Hawks will look for a strong effort from 4th year forward Kyle Williams, who scored 3 goals in two games against Acadia, but was held scoreless against Cape Breton and St. FX. Williams has been the driving force for the Hawks with 6 goals and 1 assist, but has also been helped out by fellow 4th year forward Tyler Kirby, who has 1 goal and 6 assists on the season.
Head Coach Jake Stanford, when asked about the significance of these games, said "Obviously these games are crucial and we need two wins. The players have trained hard and we deserve to be higher in the standings." The Hawks make it a goal to make the playoffs every year, so the team will look to do no different this season.
When it comes to the opponent, Stanford also added "Dalhousie are a tough team, so we expect tights games. Our team has been very resilient all year, so I expect them to be ready to perform." The Hawks will look to be ready to play this weekend, as two wins can allow them to sneak into the playoff picture as high as the 5th seed.
The Sea-Hawks play Friday at 7:15PM NST and Saturday at 3:15PM NST, head down to King George V Park to catch the games live and show your support this weekend. You can also watch the games live on www.austv.ca, keep up with the Sea-Hawks scores on Twitter or watch the live scoring at www.goseahawks.ca.
By: Darnell Downs