With just seconds to go you could see the joy in his eyes. GM Chris Baillie was watching for the box as his team hung on to a 4-2 win over the reigning champs Shputnik. "What a feeling! We have worked so hard for this. We got here 2 years ago but ended up falling short and last year was a disaster. But this..this makes up for all of that"" I am so happy for the guys in the locker room who have worked so hard for this" The Hawks headed into the 3rd up 2-1, but Shputnik tied it up eairly in the 3rd with Koivu netting the equalizer. But just 4 mins later Mighty Joe scored to move the Hawks ahead and to give the Hawks there first PolarBear Cup. Shputnik pulled their goalie with about 1min left and Richards scored the empty netter to seal the deal. "This is a great feeling. I am just so glad I was able to make it back into the line-up and help this team win"" It was such a disapointment 2 years ago but now we are on the otherside, and let me tell you it's much nicer over here" Allison said. Allison made it back to the line-up for the fianl and played both games. He got 3 points, including the game winner in game 1 on his first night back. This Hamilton team had so much depth it was just amatter of time before they broke out. After Allison went down GM/Coach Baillie went out and pick up seasoned vet Rod Brind'Amour who filled in the huge hole left by Allison. But nobody expected him to do what he did. He added some experience to this young team and also added some fire power. Brind'Amour also gave this team some play-off experience and finished 2nd in play-off scoring with 7 points. "I am glad my phone rang that day" Brind'Amour said. "It's just nice to play with a buch of great guys and to be able to do what we did." " I am looking forward to the future with this amazing club" We caught up with Broduer after the game and he said" This is amazing. We had such a great year and to top it off with the cup, well it's awsome" Brodeur and Turco shared the load of games and that worked out great for the Hawks. Brodeur played 4 games and won all 4, with 2 of those being shut-out wins. Turco was equally as good in the play-offs. He played 3 games and had 2 shut-out wins and 1 lose. "It's great to be able to contribute to the team. Coach Baillie gave both of us chances to play and Martie and myself were an awsome combo. This is a great feeling" Turoc said. The party will conitune here all night, as the Steelhawks celebrate their franchise's first PolarBear Cup!! Way to go Hawks!! Enjoy! We will keep you posted on the story!
Joe Thornton was named PolarBear cup MVP, after the Steelhawks won game 2 and swepted last years champs Shputnik. Joe Thornton who has lead this team leading up to the playoffs when team Captain Jason Allison went down, countined his domanance into the play-offs and netted the PolarBear cup game winning goal."It's a great honor" Thornton said. "We played as a team all year long". "We hit some bumps in the road but we found ways around them and in turn that made us a stronger team." "We finally have got ther monkey off are backs"" We are the champs" Joe lead the team in scoring in the play-offs with 16 points. Joe had 3 game winning goals and 1 of those game winners being the PolarBear cup clentcher. More to come!
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