Hamilton looked to close within a point in the standings of the Dundas Real McCoys on Friday night in ACH action but the Thorold Athletics put up five first period goals on their way to an 8-6 win over the Steelhawks.  Josh McQuade scored a pair of goals and picked up a pair of assists while Kevin Rebelo had a goal and three assists.  With the loss, Hamilton remains four points behind Dundas for fifth place with two games in hand and eight games remaining.

The Athletics would get on the board first just 94-seconds into the game as Brad Jackson found the back of the net for the home side.  Thorold held on to that one goal lead until just before the five-minute mark of the opening period when Josh McQuade scored a power play goal for Hamilton, his fifth goal of the season, to even the score.  The Steelhawks would take the lead when Jordan Gignac scored on a shorthanded breakaway after he was sprung out of the defending zone by Jeff Leaist.

Unfortunately, for Hamilton the Athletics would rebound with four goals, including a pair 21-seconds apart, to regain the lead headed to the dressing room.

In the second, Thorold and the Steelhawks would each score a pair of goals.  Hamilton would get goals from Josh McQuade and Rebelo which were sandwich between the Athletics goals.  Thorold would once again score the first goal of the period in the third to re-claim their four-goal lead.

Hamilton would make a late push with Taylor Carnevale scoring a shorthanded goal for his first goal of the season with Josh McQuade picking up an assist for his fourth point of the game. Joe Tolles would also score but that was as close as Hamilton would get.

The Steelhawks will return to the ice tomorrow night when they host the Brantford Blast at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena.  Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Tickets for all Hamilton Steelhawks home games are available for purchase at the team’s website www.hamiltonsteelhawks.com or at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena on game day.

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GAME SUMMARY
Period 1
THO – Brad Jackson (Anthony Geldart, JJ Martin) 1:34
HAM – Josh McQuade (Steve Guzzo, Kevin Rebelo) PPG 4:53
HAM – Jordan Gignac (Jeff Leaist) SHG 6:44
THO – Steven Dol (Tyler Turcotte, Anthony Scornaienchi) 10:37
THO – Tyler Turcotte (Anthony Scornaienchi, Steven Dol) 10:58
THO – John Falzoi (Chris Risi, Steven Dol) 14:10
THO – Brandon O’Quinn (Anthony Scornaienchi) 16:48

Period 2
THO – Zac Mcquade (Brandon Roshko, Chris Risi) 3:20
HAM – Josh McQuade (2) (Joe Tolles, Kevin Rebelo) 12:09
HAM – Kevin Rebelo (Josh McQuade) 17:01
THO – Spencer Turcotte (Derek Nichols, Brandon O’Quinn) 18:55

Period 3
THO – Brandon O’Quinn (2) (Spencer Turcotte, Derek Nichols) 2:55
HAM – Taylor Carnevale (Josh McQuade) SHG 12:53
HAM – Joe Tolles (Kevin Rebelo, Mitch McCrank) 15:08

SHOTS
Thorold: 16 – 12 – 8 – 36
Hamilton: 10 – 12 – 11 – 33

POWER PLAYS
Thorold: 0 for 3
Hamilton: 1 for 1

Molson Cup 3 Stars
1st – Steven Dol (THO)
2nd – Brandon O’Quinn (THO)
3rd – Josh McQuade (HAM)
Hardest Worker – Kevin Rebelo (HAM)