Onondaga, All-Stars, and Tonawanda Recap

The top two teams in the league met on the blue floor at Onondaga as the Golden Eagles took on the Redhawks in a Friday night faceoff.

Emotions ran high for both teams as a physical and fast paced contest picked up from the opening whistle.  Neither team would lead by more than one and back and forth scoring would be the story of the game.  Chancey Hill scored one of his two in the first and it remained 1-1 for some time.  Team leading scorer Preston Lay netted both of his goals in the first period and Drew Stevens scored in tight and the teams headed to the dressing rooms tied at 4 for the first intermission.

The second period would prove much like the first as the teams went goal for goal again.  Josh Becker scored both of his goals in the second period, followed up by a post-and-in goal from Rudi George to go along with his three assists.  The period ended 7-7 with each team 20 minutes away from victory or defeat.

The trend continued as Kori Halftown found the net for both of his goals in the third.  Chancey Hill scored what would be the eventual game winner on an assist from Halftown from behind the net.  Leading 10-9 in the final minutes the Golden Eagles knew trying to run the clock out was not an option as they tried to gain some insurance but came up short.  The one goal lead was preserved by goaltender Clint Jones and a defense who held their opponent to less than 10 goals for the 11th time this season. With the victory Newtown clinched first place for the regular season and home field advantage for the duration of the playoffs
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(Left to Right:) Clint Jones, Preston Lay, Jake Davis,
Linden Stevens, and Justin Gill

The Golden Eagles were proud to send forward Preston Lay, transition man Justin Gill, forward and faceoff man Linden Stevens, defender Jake Davis and goaltender Clint Jones up to Six Nations for the leagues annual All-Star game which was held at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on the Saturday between the Onondaga and Tonawanda games. Congratulations on a great regular season.

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Clinching first place on Friday did not mean the Golden Eagles would take Sunday off as they welcomed the Tonawanda Braves to the Gil Lay turf for the final game of the regular season.

The first period got off to a slow start on the scoreboard but a fast pace on the floor as the teams were playing a running game but not finding the net.  The ice was broken when Bobby DeFreze picked up a rebound in the corner and sent a behind-the-back pass to a cutting Preston Lay who finished inside.  That first goal would stand alone for the majority of the first till the ball started finding the net in bunches.  The last few minutes saw two goals from Morgan Montour,  an outside score from Josh Becker, a breakaway goal from Josh Kacprzak, a goal from Rudi George, and a powerplay goal from veteran Trace White.  The flurry of scoring left the Golden Eagles up 7-2 at the break.

The second period led to more of the same as Lay opened the scoring again, Kori Halftown put one post-and-in on a sidearm shot, DeFreze put in two in a row, and Montour hit the third of his game-high four.  Corey Henry and the defense allowed a single goal and the game paused at 12-3 for the final break.

Halftown opened the third with a goal to cap off his two goal day.  After a couple penalties led to some powerplay goals for the Braves the NGE settled back in and finished strong.  Second year lefty Jonny Gill found the net, followed by Montour's fourth and Becker's second.  Standout rookie LeRoy Halftown closed out the game and regular season scoring as the Newtown Golden Eagles finished the game 17-6 and the season 15-1-0.  

Stay tuned for a regular season wrap-up and playoff preview!

Standings	Team Name	GP	W	L	T	GF	Avrg. GF	GA	Avrg. GA	PTS.	PIM
1st	Newtown	16	15	1	0	245	15.3	109	6.81	30	338

Six Nations and Rochester Recap

Newtown won a closely contested road game against the Six Nations slash this past Saturday as they hit the ILA turf for a 7pm faceoff.

The Golden Eagles trailed for much of the game but were able to pull off a one goal victory in the closing moments as defenseman Lyle Stevens caught an outlet from goalie Clint Jones on a breakaway but was checked from behind while shooting.  Leading scorer Preston Lay trailed the play and capped off his hat-trick by scooping up the rebound and finding the net.

Six Nations requested a measurement on Jones's pads, but when they were found within the legal limits, found themselves on the receiving end of the two minute penalty they hoped would be Newtown's.  The NGE finished the game man up and left with a 12-11 victory

Game Notes: Preston Lay continues to lead the way for the Golden Eagles with another hat-trick performance.  Kori Halftown  added a hat-trick of his own and Linden and Brian Stevens added two each.  Tyler Strassburg and Jonathan Gill each added one a piece. Josh Becker added four helpers. The team had 14 minutes in penalties.

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The NGE were back at home Sunday as they met the Rochester Greywolves at the Gil Lay Memorial Arena for a 3pm matinee.

It was all Newtown in this potential first-round playoff preview as the first place Golden Eagles controlled play from start to finish.  Bobby DeFreze notched an opening period hat-trick against his former team but was not the high scorer of the first as Preston Lay continued his hot-streak with four goals in the period and seven in the game.  Heading into the second with a score of 10-1, Rochester packed their zone defense in tight and Newtown took their foot off the gas.  The game would end 17-4.

Game Notes:  Faceoff man Linden Stevens dominated the draws and goaltender Cory Henry added a long outlet pass assist to his 4 goals allowed performance. Morgan Montour added two goals and four assists and Brian Stevens did not find the net but notched 6 assists to help his team to victory.  The team had 18 minutes in penalties, killing 2 out of 3 four minute penalties incurred.