Scoring struggles continue to plague Hawks

Photo by Sadman Rahman

“We haven’t scored enough, I’ll just put it that simple. We’ve had our chances and we haven’t put [the puck] in the net enough.”

Head coach Greg Puhalski did not mince words when asked why his team lost to Brock 2-0 last Friday, making them 0-2 against the Badgers this season.

This loss, however, comes on the heels of a win over cross-town rival Waterloo on Wednesday, Nov. 21.

However, splitting games 1-1 will not be enough for the Golden Hawks to make playoffs, and when asked about what it will take to win more in the second-half of the season, coach Puhalski returned to what has been his teams’ Achilles heel this season, “We need to score more.”

When you’re not scoring enough it puts pressure on all areas of your game.

We’re getting the [scoring] chances, and it’s just a matter of finishing when we get them. I mean, if you’re getting chances you’re accomplishing something, but you have to actually put the puck in the net.”

This year the Golden Hawks have scored less goals than all but one team, but with gritty defense and goaltending, their record still keeps them within striking distance of the playoffs.

Provided, of course, they score more goals in the second half of the season. But unfortunately, coach Puhalski said it best when he stated: “If [there was] a formula for scoring it would have been invented long ago.”

He went on to discuss some of the points he aims to stress in practice, but when pouring over the schedule, one can see that, including non-conference games, seven of Laurier’s 12 losses have been by a single goal.

It is not hard to imagine that a puck bouncing differently, or a penalty going the other way, and Laurier’s season could be looking entirely different.

However, in next Saturday’s matchup, York does not intend to be Laurier’s first stepping stone toward the playoffs.

The Lions are 9-5 in conference play, and having dropped their last two contests, ensuring that they will be travelling to Waterloo hungry for a win.

But for students and athletes alike, this time of year can be especially trying; the weather turns sour while exams loom, and winter break seems like some faraway promise, too good to be true.

However, like coach Puhalski and his team, students still have some unfinished business as well.

The playoff push for the Hawks starts now, and defeating York would be a sweet send off to the semester.

Likewise, students writing final exams get a chance to solidify a semester’s worth of hard work.

So while the days may be short and the weather disagreeable, discipline and effort now will make victory that much sweeter.

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