By Jeff D'Andrea

Hawks’ Arnold: ‘We didn’t do anything right’ in Game 3 loss

May 1, 2018 | 10:50 PM

Nipawin Hawks forward Brandan Arnold didn’t mince words with how he thought his team performed in their 6-2 loss to the Steinbach Pistons on Tuesday night at the Centennial Arena. With the win, the Pistons take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven ANAVET Cup series.

“We just weren’t ready, basically. There’s nothing to it besides that,” Arnold said. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself or anything, you gotta take responsibility.

“We didn’t do anything right. We didn’t battle back after a certain amount of goals. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and think that tomorrow will be better.”

Game 4 will be a pivotal game in the series for both teams. If the Hawks win the Wednesday night contest at the Cage, the series is all square at 2-2. If they lose, they’re on the brink of elimination down 3-1.

“You have to come to tomorrow to the rink kinda mad,” Arnold said. “You want to make a difference. Everybody’s going to be coming to the rink mad tomorrow, for sure.”

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The Pistons scored the first five goals of the game.

The Pistons had a 1-0 advantage after the opening period. Easton Bennett scored his first goal of the series, potting home a rebound after Darby Gula’s point blast caused a rebound and scramble in front of the Hawks’ net.

The Pistons exploded for three in the second, improving their advantage to 4-0 after the opening 40 minutes on play. Brady Tatro broke Hawks goalie Declan Hobbs’ water bottle 2:11 into the frame. Austin Heidemann danced through the entire Hawks’ defence just over a minute later to pile on the pressure. At the halfway mark of the second, Drew Worrad dove into the net to deflect in the Pistons’ fourth goal.

Then 7:22 into the third period, Bradley Schoonbaert scored right off the faceoff on the power play to make it 5-0.

Logan Casavant stopped the bleeding for the Hawks, getting them on the scoresheet after a feed from Arnold in the corner.

That was the Hawks’ sixth goal of the series, and Arnold was a part of each one. He scored three and assisted on the other three.

Pistons’ forward Daniel McKitrick added insult to injury making it 6-2 with just over two minutes to play.

But late in the game, Hawks captain Carter Doerksen scored with just 30.8 seconds left to make it a 6-2 game. That was the first Hawks’ goal that Arnold wasn’t a part of, but his younger brother Kenzie Arnold registered the primary assist on the goal.

The Hawks started the series out hot. In their 4-3 win in Game 1, the Hawks had a 3-1 lead after the opening 20 minutes. Since then, the Pistons have outscored the Hawks 11-4.

The ANAVET Cup is a regional tournament, putting the champions of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Manitoba Junior Hockey League against each other in a best-of-seven series. The winner advances to the RBC Cup national championships.

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW