The Hawks beat the Flyers 6-3 in Game 1 of the Finals.
It looked like the Hawks had a restful afternoon because they got off to a good start in this game. Early in the third period they were already holding a 3-0 lead. They extended their lead to 5-1 by the end of the second.
When the Flyers scored two goals late in the third period, the game got a little more interesting, but that was as close as it would get.
Zach Vanderwal is the Player of the Game. He scored a hat-trick for the Hawks.

Will the Flyers tie up the series tonight (Saturday, March 14)? Or will the Hawks win their second championship in three years? Come on out tonight to find out. See you at the RBC Centre @ 6:30pm.

We had a few incidents in the semi-finals series. Here is the summary:

Kev Karelsen, of the Flyers, had three minors in Game 1 of the semi-finals on Friday night. This was the first time that this has occurred for Kev this season, so he was not suspended for it.

In the same game, Corey Moesker, of the Stars, was given a "major" for cross checking and a game misconduct. This was the second game misconduct that Corey was given this season, so he is suspended for five games. The first game of this suspension was served by sitting out the second game of the semi-finals series on Saturday, March 7th. The remainder of this suspension will be served by sitting out the first four games of next season.

In Game 2 of the semi-finals series between the Cattle Barons & Hawks, Jordan Nydam, of the Hawks, was handed a "10 minute" misconduct. This was the first time that this has occurred for Jordan this season, so he is okay to play in Game 1 of the finals.

This is the summary for the games that were played on Saturday, March 7:

In the early game, the Flyers beat the Stars 5-3.
Things looked good for the Stars early when they scored twice while two men down. The Flyers answered back in the second period to bring it to a 2-2 tie going into the third period. Two early goals in the period by the Flyers took the wind out of the sails of the Stars. The Stars came close by scoring a power-play goal with less than five minutes to go, but the Flyers sealed the deal with another late game goal.
Curt Moesker had another strong game for the Stars. For the second straight night, he scored two goals. Ryan Cross & Matt VanMarum will share the Player of the Game. Ryan had three points, while Matt had four points.
With the victory, the Flyers will await the winner of the Cattle Barons - Hawks series to play for the championship.

The late game of the evening saw the Hawks come away with a 3-0 win.
This was truly an exciting playoff game. The score certainly does not reflect how close this game really was. Both goaltenders put on a clinic.
The game was actually scoreless until the Hawks scored with less than five minutes remaining in the third period. The Cattle Barons didn't give up and poured on the pressure late in the period. The Hawks scored twice on an empty net to seal the victory.
There is no question that both goaltenders are the Players of the Game in this one. Mike Ward earned the shut-out for the Hawks. Steve Pastoor stopped all but one shots and kept his team in the game for as long as he could.
With this win, the Hawks will now play the Flyers in the finals.

This is the summary for the games that were played on Friday, March 6:

In the early game, the fourth seeded Hawks beat the Cattle Barons 5-2.
The Hawks took control of the game early, and held a 2-0 lead after the first period. They stretched their lead to 5-1 after two. Early in the third the Cattle Barons scored to attempt a come-back. However, this was as close as they would come, as the Hawks held on to take a 1-0 lead in the semi-finals series.
Clint Schenk is the Player of the Game. He had a three point game in the Hawks' win.

The Flyers beat the Stars 6-2 in the late game of the evening.
The Stars got on the scoreboard first, but the Flyers came storming back and held a 3-1 lead by the end of the period. The Stars scored early in the second period to bring it to 3-2, but the Flyers scored two more goals late in the period. When the Flyers scored another goal early in the third, it was pretty much a done deal.
With the win, the Flyers are just one win away from reaching the finals.
Curt Moesker scored both goals for the Stars. We'll let Matt VanMarum & Kev Karelsen share the Player of the Game in this one. Both of these guys had a three point game in the Flyers' win.

We had a few incidents on the final night of the regular season. Here is the summary of these:

Brandon Wilpstra of the Stars passed the 30 minute mark in penalties. For this, he will sit out the first game of next season.

Matt Kreeft, of the Flyers received three minors and was ejected from the game. This is the third time that this has occurred for Matt this season, so he is suspended from playing in the first two playoff games.
Matt also passed the 30 minute mark in penalties in this game, so he will also sit out the first game of next season.

Jordan Deboer, of the Ice Dogs received a "gross misconduct" in the late game. According to our rules, receiving a "gross misconduct" warrants a three game suspension, so Jordan will be suspended from playing in the first three games of next season.