On April 10, the Henry Ford College Hawks Roller Hockey team made it to the final four at the national championship in Fargo, North Dakota.

In the first round, the Hawks played the powerhouse team of Saddleback College from California. Saddleback has mostly pro roller hockey players that have played in bigger national tournaments as well as international tournaments for Team USA. At the beginning of the game, Saddleback controlled most of the game scoring the first goal to put them up 1-0. The Hawks tried every possible way to get around the opposing teams defense but couldn’t do it. Saddleback put in another three goals to take the game 4-0, out shooting the Hawks 38-8.

The next game was against West Valley, another California team, with two great players that could put the puck in the net. West Valley started the game off with the opening goal about seven minutes into the game and it stayed that way for the remainder of the first period. The Hawks slowed the game to improve their chances of scoring, and scored three goals in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Midway through the second period, a West Valley player drove hard to the net kneeing the goalie in the head. After the collision, West Valley put in two goals in the final minutes of the second period to tie it up at 3. The third period was another scoring period as both teams put two in to make it a 5-5 game going into overtime. Overtime started with West Valley having three guys and the Hawks having two due to a penalty. The Hawks successfully killed the penalty, but within seconds West Valley capitalized on a one-timer to win 6-5.

Between the second and third games the Hawks had to make a tough decision to put captain Jake Tomalak in as goalie. The Hawks won the next game 6-5 against Meramec, a small college in St. Louis. The Hawks were 1-1-1.

In the next round, the Hawks beat Meramec again, 5-1. The Hawks faced Saddleback in the final four. Saddleback took an early 2-0 lead going into the second period. The Hawks scored once but Saddleback answered with another goal, giving them a 3-1 lead going into the third. At the start of the third period, Saddleback put in two more goals to extend their lead to 5-1. The Hawks put in one goal near the end of the game but Saddleback scored once more to win 6-2. Saddleback went on to win the championship.

The Hawks look to come back stronger next year and hope to win regionals and make it to the national championship game.