What a year 2024 was for the Blackburn Hawks. In a year where they became both Cup and Play-Off champions, the Hawks defined success not only by the silverware they won on the ice, but by cultivating the strong sense of community felt by the fans in the stands. It was these same fans who were out in full force on Saturday night, hoping to carry last year’s success into 2025. The hockey gods certainly organised a fixture that would live up to the occasion.
The Deeside Dragons made their first trip to the Hawks Nest this season, with this game between local rivals having some added heat due to the two teams being drawn against each other in the Moralee Cup Semi-Finals, taking place in two weeks’ time. On top of this, there would be a more personal clash occurring on the ice as Deeside’s star American import Jake Witkowski would be facing off against his predecessor Petr Valusiak. The Czech forward was returning on his 2nd debut for Blackburn, against the team who he had represented valiantly for the last two seasons before being replaced by Witkowski as the Dragons designated import. This tantalising personal battle highlighted the drama at play in this highly anticipated fixture.
The night was made even more special due to the Hawks partnering with Let’s Foster for their 2nd theme night of the season. A long-time sponsor of the Hawks, Lets Foster’s goal is to raise awareness in the current shortage of carers in the local community. As part of this partnership, there were many foster kids and carers alike in attendance at their first hockey game, who watched on as the Hawks took to the ice in their special theme night jerseys, adorned with the colours and crest of the fostering service. This would be one of many festivities that would mark the special evening.
The action commenced and as you’ve already come to expect by now – Blackburn opened the scoring in just over a minute. Adam Barnes’ sultry shot made it clear that early scoring was not just a 2024 phenomenon for this electric Hawks team, with this goal being the forward’s 25th of the season. After this early offensive explosion, both teams settled into the game. The majority of this period was taken up by each team trading places on the powerplay, with Deeside successfully defending a 3-man penalty kill at one point. Something had to give however, as Blackburn came off their own successful PK after a Spawforth hooking call, they found themselves back with a man advantage again – this time not letting the opportunity go to waste as McKinney and Riddoch assisted James Royds to double their lead. Still reeling from this, a back-to-full-strength Deeside team were caught off guard by their former main man Petr Valusiak, who secured his first point back in a Hawks jersey, slotting through Daragh Spawforth for Blackburn’s third of the period.
As the players left the ice for the first intermission, spectators gathered around the periphery of the rink, teddies in hand, as it was time for the charity ‘Teddy Bear Toss’. The ice was descended upon by an avalanche of cuddly, stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes. Once the hardworking mascots had collected all 350 teddies, they were donated by the club to locally based children’s charity Secret Santa.
Once these festivities were concluded, both teams came out for the middle period. Deeside were hoping for a way back into the contest after penalties ruined their rhythm in the First. Blackburn were set at snuffing out this hopeful flame and in under two minutes, Jacob Lutwyche converted off the back of a nice team-up between Charnock and Hine. With the score now at 4, the Dragons could feel the game slipping through their claws. They immediately hit back at Blackburn as former Hawk Jared Dickinson carried the puck up the ice and squared it to Cade King, who notched one back for the Welsh side. It seemed as if this momentum would falter for the Dragons after Will Harper picked up a silly cross-checking penalty just 40 seconds after this goal. However, with his team reduced to four men, Jake Witkowski decided it was time to show up. The American pounced on a misplaced pass and fired a backhanded shot just over Thomasson in the Blackburn goal.
The score was 4-2 and Deeside looked poised for a Witkowski-led resurgence. Faced with this threat and only ten minutes left in the period, the Hawks rose to the challenge. First came Andy McKinney, another Dragon-turned-Hawk, whose 17th of the season restored Blackburn’s three-goal lead. This goal disoriented Deeside, who had gone from searching for a comeback to scrambling just to make it out of the period alive. Their worst fears came to fruition as Jacob Lutwyche went hat-trick hunting. His second goal was the result of another Petr Valusiak assist, however with only a minute left in the period and Blackburn reduced to 4-men, it looked as of Deeside had weathered Storm Jacob. They were wrong. Quickly off the break, goalie Ollie Thomasson played through the 23-year-old who spectacularly converted – completing another round of his hat-trick heroics.
The score may have been 7-2, but the game was not over going into the final period of play. The Dragons highlighted this by throwing men forward in a desperate attempt to claw back a result. All this was in vain however, as after assisting on the previous goal, Ollie Thomasson stood strong in between Blackburn’s pipes, registering a staggering 17-save shutout in the final 20 minutes. Things were about to go from bad to worse for Deeside, as at the other end of the ice, a familiar face was ready to strike the final blows.
After already securing two-points on his homecoming, many would’ve thought that Petr Valusiak would be content with his comeback performance. As he lined up for a left sided face-off in Deeside’s zone, the 38-year-old centre had other ideas. As soon as the puck dropped, Valusiak flashed his stick, and before Dragon’s goalie Matt Croyle could compute what had happened, the puck was behind him. Valusiak cooly drifted away in celebration, cheekily pointing at his befuddled former teammate as The Hawks Nest erupted. Still in disbelief at what their ‘new’ signing had done, the Blackburn fans watched on as Valusiak continued to plug away in front of the net. With just over 5 minutes left in the game, he was rewarded with another goal, as he batted out of mid-air a rebound offered up by new goalie Oliver Booth. At 9-2, you’d have thought that Valusiak had made it ‘Czech Mate’, however (for the sake of ruining that terrible pun) Liam Charnock completed the game for Blackburn, finishing off a play started at the back by Thomasson. This goal not only meant that Thomasson finished the game on more points than any Deeside player, but also resulted in the Hawks securing their third 10-goal performance on the bounce.
With this outstanding home win against the team directly below us in the table, the Blackburn Hawks now sit 9 points ahead of our Welsh rivals. This very special night concluded up in the bar after the game, as the match-worn theme night jerseys were raffled off in aid of our main partner for the night, Let’s Foster.
Whilst the busy festive period may be over, the games keep coming thick and fast at the Hawks Nest. This Sunday sees the Sheffield Scimitars return in hopes of getting revenge for last week’s year-ending 10-goal hammering, whilst Blackburn will use the game to prepare for their big cup clash rematch against the Dragons the week after…
The Blackburn Hawks will play against the Sheffield Scimitars @ Blackburn Arena on Sunday 12th January, Face-Off: 6:00pm
Article Courtesy of Nathan Dove
FEATURED IMAGES PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Pollitt and KIPAX