Wings move on to the conference finals after two big wins; Hartmann wins coaching debut

The Carleton Tavern Wings are headed to the conference finals after a big 2-0 win over the O’Gradys on Monday night.

After dropping game 1 of the playoffs, the Wings won two straight to punch their ticket to the next round. The team has been without injured forward Mike Hartmann who is still listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury.

The Wings needed a win on Monday to guarantee their spot in the conference finals and pulled out a hard fought 2-0 victory. Star goaltender Alec Casey shut the door and the Wings got two nice goals from Needham and Machon.

“The defense played great in front of me,” said Casey. “I saw all the shots and they did a great job all night. If I can see the puck, I’m going to stop it.”

Embroiled center Ross Machon scored a highlight reel goal after a beautiful feed from Matt Sharron. Machon made a slick move around the goalie to slide it into an empty net on the backhand.

“It’s not my go to move to be honest. But I saw the goalie come way out and my instincts just took over. That’s what great goal scorers do: they adapt,” explained Machon.

Hartmann also made his coaching debut along with Mark Molnar who forgot to check his gear before coming to the rink. Hartmann ran the forward group while Molnar focused on the defense.

“It’s hard to watch and not be out there helping the guys,” admitted Hartmann. “But being able to be on the bench and give the guys some encouragement was a lot of fun.”

The Wings are now winless in the playoffs with Hartmann in the lineup and undefeated with him behind the bench….