October 3, 2006
Ugly or not, Hawks Start Season Right
Ugly or not, Hawks Start Season Right
The Iowa IceHawks opened their first game of the season just the way they wanted
to, by bursting to a 4-1 first period lead over the Palmer College Dragons.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, it was mostly downhill from there.
The Hawks added to their lead in the second period as they outscored Palmer by the
score of 2-1 on goals by Sean McCarthy and Tyler Schultz. However it was the third
period where the wheels really began to come off for Iowa. The Hawks took a 6-2
lead into the period but were outscored 5-3 in the third to escape with an ugly 9-7 win.
The IceHawks have a history of letting teams back into games when they have a
commanding lead and so the third period may have looked familiar to Iowa Hockey
followers. Odd-man breaks, defensive miscues, and an overall lack of effort left Iowa
goaltender Derek Lawson fending for himself in the Iowa zone. On the positive side
however, it was just Iowa's first game of the season, and the Hawks still got an
important win. "There's no such thing as a bad win," head coach Kevin Harter said.
"It's a great to get a win at home. You can't take the win away, no matter how ugly,
and that's the best thing about it."
"It wasn't the prettiest looking game, but it's still two points," said Iowa Captain Mike
Coleman. "We were sloppy. We grinded it out and got the two points, but it was
definitely not our prettiest or best effort."
Senior Kyle Norris led the way in scoring for the Hawkeyes as he scored twice in the
first period and once in the third to record a hat-trick in the first game of the season.
Junior Sean McCarthy added two as he scored in the second and the third periods
and Jamie Elliot, Peter Opalacz, Tyler Schultz and Kyle Jacobson all added goals to
the mix.
The Hawkeyes typically play the second game of a series on Saturday, but on this
rare occasion they had the day off as Iowa City essentially shut down as the Iowa
Football team took on No. 1 Ohio State, and suffered a disappointing loss. The
IceHawks hoped to fare better as they traveled to the Quad Cities Sports Complex on
Sunday to face Palmer on the Dragons' home ice.
On Sunday Palmer struck first as they got a rebound past Derek Lawson to put the
Hawks behind for the first time this season. Despite some of the sloppy play from
Friday carrying over, the Hawks were still able to leave with a victory by the score of
5-2.
Though the Hawkeyes won the game, they suffered a big loss as talented freshman
forward Tyler Smith slammed feet first into the boards at nearly full speed just a few
minutes into the second period. Smith was tripped in a race for the puck and suffered
a broken femur as a result of the collision which will in all likelihood keep him out for
the remainder of the season. The Iowa Hockey Organization would like to take this
space to wish Smith a healthy, full, and speedy recovery.
NOTES: The Hawkeyes have this weekend off before they travel to Jefferson City to
take on the University of Missouri.
to, by bursting to a 4-1 first period lead over the Palmer College Dragons.
Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, it was mostly downhill from there.
The Hawks added to their lead in the second period as they outscored Palmer by the
score of 2-1 on goals by Sean McCarthy and Tyler Schultz. However it was the third
period where the wheels really began to come off for Iowa. The Hawks took a 6-2
lead into the period but were outscored 5-3 in the third to escape with an ugly 9-7 win.
The IceHawks have a history of letting teams back into games when they have a
commanding lead and so the third period may have looked familiar to Iowa Hockey
followers. Odd-man breaks, defensive miscues, and an overall lack of effort left Iowa
goaltender Derek Lawson fending for himself in the Iowa zone. On the positive side
however, it was just Iowa's first game of the season, and the Hawks still got an
important win. "There's no such thing as a bad win," head coach Kevin Harter said.
"It's a great to get a win at home. You can't take the win away, no matter how ugly,
and that's the best thing about it."
"It wasn't the prettiest looking game, but it's still two points," said Iowa Captain Mike
Coleman. "We were sloppy. We grinded it out and got the two points, but it was
definitely not our prettiest or best effort."
Senior Kyle Norris led the way in scoring for the Hawkeyes as he scored twice in the
first period and once in the third to record a hat-trick in the first game of the season.
Junior Sean McCarthy added two as he scored in the second and the third periods
and Jamie Elliot, Peter Opalacz, Tyler Schultz and Kyle Jacobson all added goals to
the mix.
The Hawkeyes typically play the second game of a series on Saturday, but on this
rare occasion they had the day off as Iowa City essentially shut down as the Iowa
Football team took on No. 1 Ohio State, and suffered a disappointing loss. The
IceHawks hoped to fare better as they traveled to the Quad Cities Sports Complex on
Sunday to face Palmer on the Dragons' home ice.
On Sunday Palmer struck first as they got a rebound past Derek Lawson to put the
Hawks behind for the first time this season. Despite some of the sloppy play from
Friday carrying over, the Hawks were still able to leave with a victory by the score of
5-2.
Though the Hawkeyes won the game, they suffered a big loss as talented freshman
forward Tyler Smith slammed feet first into the boards at nearly full speed just a few
minutes into the second period. Smith was tripped in a race for the puck and suffered
a broken femur as a result of the collision which will in all likelihood keep him out for
the remainder of the season. The Iowa Hockey Organization would like to take this
space to wish Smith a healthy, full, and speedy recovery.
NOTES: The Hawkeyes have this weekend off before they travel to Jefferson City to
take on the University of Missouri.
