The Trenton Golden Hawks did what defending champions need to do and that’s take command of a series early, dumping the Lindsay Muskies 7-2 in Game 1 of their OJHL Quarterfinal Series on Friday at home.
Prior to the game, Olympian Trennt Michaud dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff and wished the Hawks good luck, which seemed to rub off on the home unit.
They put home a pair in the first to take flight thanks to Jamie Darlison on a long shot that hit a Lindsay player and trickled in and Daylen Moses on a Darlison pass.
Lucas Digiantommaso bumped the lead to 3-0 at the 3:17 mark of the second before Ajay Rai ripped a high shot over Hayden Jeffery for Lindsay’s first playoff goal since March 19, 2013.
Trenton ran away with two more goals to round out the period and overwhelm the Muskies, further expanding their lead courtesy of Diagiantommaso and Duncan Schneider.
Rai set up Ethan Kindree at 7:34 of the third to make the score 5-2, but Trenton was too powerful and sealed its Game 1 victory with Darlison and Kale Mace burying two as tensions boiled over.
Digiantommaso registered a five-point night to pace the Hawks as they finished atop the shot count 43-20.
The Muskies will try to channel their anger and frustration into an immediate bounce back in Game 2 of the series Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
