Golden Hawks battle back, but fall short in Newmarket

Tim Bates / OJHL Images

Travel delays and a slow start proved costly for the Trenton Golden Hawks, as they lost 4–2 to the Newmarket Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon at the Ray Twinney Recreation Complex.

With the win, the Hurricanes have taken a 2–0 lead in the best-of-seven Semifinals series.

The game was pushed back an hour due to a mechanical issue with the team bus, and the Golden Hawks struggled to find their footing early, falling behind 2–0 after the first period.

Trenton responded quickly in the second. Just over a minute in, Lucas Digiantommaso cut the deficit in half with his team-leading fourth goal of the postseason, finishing a play set up by Jamie Darlison and Casey Bridgewater.

Later in the frame, overage forward Daylen Moses drew the Golden Hawks even, with Joey Brehmer and Andrew Wycisk drawing assists.

Logan Bennett returned to the lineup for Trenton, while Taeo Artichuk was unavailable.

The Golden Hawks pushed hard in the third period, outshooting the Hurricanes 15–7, but couldn’t find the go-ahead goal. Connor Haynes broke the deadlock with under two minutes remaining, and Nathan Phillips added an empty-netter to insure the win in front of a crowd of 589.

Each team took just one minor penalty in the game with neither capitalizing on the power play. Trenton has remained disciplined throughout the series, which is a continuation from the regular season.

Goaltender Colten Drillen-Roach made 30 saves in the loss, while Carter Froggett matched him, turning aside just as many shots in the win.

So far in these playoffs, one team has already come back from a 2–0 series deficit, with the Milton Menace defeating the Burlington Cougars in the first round.

Trenton will look to bounce back in Game 3, which is set for Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Newmarket.