Winterhawks eke out win to take series lead

Winterhawks forward Jeff McDermid gets one past Clinton Radars goaltender Marc Nother March 3 at the Plex. Hub photo

The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks nearly let one slip away Friday night but held on for a 5-4 win over the Clinton Radars to lead the semi-final series 2-1.

The Hawks had a comfortable 5-1 lead late in the second but had a tough time closing the door as the Radars scored three unanswered goals making for a tense third period.

Prior to the game, the Winterhawks goaltenders were presented the trophy for a record-setting Best Goals Against Average award.

See: Winterhawks goaltenders set award record

The two teams traded power play goals in the first with Clinton’s Deryk Whitehead opening the scoring late in the period. Brent MacDermid responded with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game.

The Winterhawks exploded with four unanswered goals in the second with Jeff MacDermid connecting with Alex Kuntz and Brent MacDermid followed by Curtis Johnston’s first of two goals midway through the period.

Andy Mitchell stripped a defender of the puck at the blue line and broke in alone to beat Clinton goalie Marc Nother to make it 4-1. Johnston scored again 30 seconds later to widen the margin to 5-1.

Ryan Murphy notched a power play goal late in the second to make it 5-3 and carried the momentum into the third with goals from Whitehead and Luke Vick.

The Radars pulled their goalie late in the third but the man advantage was nullified when Vick was penalized for goaltender interference after running over Hawks goalie Jeff Flagler.

The series resumes Saturday night, March 4 in Clinton with Game 5 at the Plex in Port Elgin Friday, March 10 at 8:30 p.m.

with files from winterhawks.net

Winterhawks Andy Mitchell and Nick Quaid work together to get the puck out of Radar hands. Hub photo