NEWS

Zachary Roy of the Pickering Panthers watches the play at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford Thursday. His Panthers won 7-1 over the Brantford 99ers. Pickering has 44 points, second most in the 21-team OJHL, following a 3-2 loss at home to Stouffville last night. (Christian Bender/OJHL Images)

BY RON VALENTINE

The last full week before the Christmas/holiday break saw:

• postponements due to both COVID-19 concerns and a weekend snow storm

• three teams trading multiple players

• a coaching change in Collingwood

On the ice, the Haliburton County Huskies got all three of their games in and came up on the right side of them as did the South Division leaders, the North York Rangers. 

The Aurora Tigers, North-leading Pickering Panthers, Stouffville Spirit and St. Michael's Buzzers won twice in three starts while the West-leading Burlington Cougars scored two wins and a tie.

MONDAY - The Haliburton County Huskies moved to within four points of the East-leading Trenton Golden Hawks with a 3-2 road victory over the Cobourg Cougars. Payton Schaly got them off on the right foot scoring 49 seconds into the contest. With his first OJHL goal Justin Jamer tied it up to make it 1-1 after one. Jamer, from Nepean ON, formerly suited up for the CCHL's Navan Grads and the SJHL's Humboldt Broncos. Patrick Saini got the visitors back on top in the second but again the Cougars would tie it on an A.J. Cook goal. Oliver Tarr, who assisted on the first two goals, got the game winner in the physical third period giving him 40 points.

TUESDAY - The Collingwood Blues started a four-games-in-five-nights run on the road at the Central arena against the Burlington Cougars. They are the last games for the Blues before the Christmas/Holiday break. This was a hard-fought 2-1 win for the Cougars. Blueliner Aydan Dooley's sixth goal of the season put the Blues one up after one. The other two goals in the game were both firsts with Connor Macdonell scoring in the second and defenceman Crossley Stewart in the third. Winning goalkeeper Kyle Metson saved 29 and got some good iron luck while Brett Fullerton stopped 25. Burlington's leading goalscorer Jack Richard sat the first of a two game suspension  and Blues' captain Cam Garvey was still out injured until after the break. Cougars' Head Coach Mark Jooris: "I didn't like our first period. I think we were the better team in the second and third. It was nice to see the 'new' guys score, it's good to win those tight games." Blues' Head Coach Rob Bentivegna commented before the game: "We love our group and we are finding more consistency throughout the lineup now that we are getting some bodies back. We are looking to end the calendar year on a positive note." (The Blues were due to play three more road games this week but were only able to get one in due to COVID-19 concerns. Mr. Bentivegna resigned Sunday and Associate Coach Andrew Campoli was upgraded to Interim Head Coach.)

In Milton the Menace came from behind to edge the Aurora Tigers 3-2. The clock was ticking down the final few seconds in the first period when Lucas Stanojevic tabbed an unassisted marker for the visitors. Sixteen seconds into period two William Smith made it 2-0 but Holden Rogers' nineteenth goal of the campaign got the Menace on the board and they would score two more in the final frame courtesy Ethan Sims and John Mitchell, with the game winner. It was the first goal for the son of Reid Mitchell, Director of Scouting Operations for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jordan Stock and two assists for the winners. With the victory the Menace moved into a second place tie in the West with Oakville. The remainder of the Menace games this week were postponed due to COVID concerns.

WEDNESDAY - instead of their usual Port Credit rink, the Mississauga Chargers played their game against the St. Michael's Buzzers at the Meadowvale 4 Rinks and for two and a half periods the one game change seemed to have suited them as they led 1-0 on an early first period goal by Burlington-born Eamon Fitzpatrick but Bryce Sutherland's goal 11 minutes into the final frame got the visitors back into it and blueliner Thomas Grossi had the game winner less than two minutes later. Sutherland's second goal into the empty Chargers' net, his 21st of the season, made it a 3-1 final. 

THURSDAY - In Aurora, Nolan Boyd stopped all 22 Blues' shots for his 11th win on the season as the Tigers took the contest 2-0 to move into second spot in the North by a singleton. Blueliner Jack Seney scored his first OJHL goal to put the home side ahead late in the second period and Blake Frost netted his sixth in the final frame. Blues' 'keeper Noah Pak saved 26 shots. 

The Pickering Panthers brought their offensive arsenal into Brantford against the 99'ers steamrolling to a 7-1 victory. A big night for Elijah Pilosof with the hat trick and five points while Ian Martin had a goal and four assists. Jake Partridge, former captain of the 99ers, had two goals and an assist. Blueliner Brendan Tomilson had the other Panthers' goal and goalie Zachary Roy was beaten only by Jack Robertson with the game tying goal just shy of three minutes into the contest. Pickering's Myles Perry sat out this one, the first of a two-game suspension. 

It was just the second home win of the season for the Stouffville Spirit as they got past the Markham Royals 5-1. Ryan Cutler got the first period's only goal of the opening period. They would add three more in the second with goals from Carson Whitson, Peter Kioussis and, on the powerplay, Odaro Ewere. Matthew Perciballi, also on the powerplay, scored the Markham goal with eight minutes left to go. Anthony Lamanna wrapped up the goalscoring with the Royals' netminder on the bench. In the Spirit net, Minnesota product Cody Ticen was busy making 40 saves. 

Caledon got off to a good start in their game at the Mayfield arena against the North York Rangers scoring the only goal of the opening 20 minutes courtesy Blake Boudreau, who started the season with the Georgetown Raiders, with his first goal as an Admiral. They led 4-3 after 40 minutes, but could not withstand a final stanza explosion by the Rangers who scored four times for the 7-4 win. Zach Ophoven scored twice for the victors and Max Donohoe had a goal and three points. According to the official stats Cale McWillimas stopped 80 of 86 Rangers' shots. Scoring his first OJHL goal was the Admirals' Ben McChesney. The Burlington-born forward was called up from the Jr. B. Bombers.

FRIDAY - A quick bounceback by the 99ers at Sixteen Mile as they bested the Blades 4-1. Two goals from  Ancaster native Josh Sordo and singles from Brendan Anderson and Lucas Thompson put the visitors up 4-0 before Adam Tucci got Oakville on the board in the third. Anthony Rebelo had two assists. Justin Wu made 30 saves. Five straight road wins for Brantford. Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald: "I'm very proud of the way the guys bounced back tonight although I'm not surprised because this is a resilient group and they are going to respond again and again. This was a big game for us and everyone in the room stepped up to the challenge."

For the second night in a row the Panthers scored seven goals on the road, this time beating Markham 7-3. Two goals each for Jake Partridge and Lucas Rowe. Brendan Tomilson's one goal and three assists moved him up to the 31 point mark, number one in defencemen in the League. Khaden Henry scored twice for the Royals. Elijah Pilosof had a goal and an assist giving him 10 points in the club's last three games. Ian Martin had an assist, nine points in his last four games. Assistant GM Scotty Nicholson was happy: "Partridge, Pilosof and Martin have found great chemistry. When you have many skilled players it takes a while to find which three click together but those three have found it. Tomilson is one of the greatest kids around and he deserves everything that's coming to him. Obviously, he can put up the points but he is also one of our best defenceman." 

The Georgetown Raiders came into the Central Arena on a four-game losing skid while the host Burlington Cougars had won their last four. This one took 60 minutes to not decide a winner with the final score at 2-2. Rhys Chittendon gave the Raiders' a quick lead before Matthew Zebedee scored his 16th of the season and Joel Chavin scored on the powerplay to send the Cougars into the dressing room ahead 2-1 after 20 minutes. Georgetown-born Brennan Kennedy got the tying goal just over three minutes into period two and that would be the scoring in the game as goalies Sebastian Labora (36 saves) and Zach Dietz (31) said 'no more'. Zebedee added an assist to move him up to 38 points, good for fifth place in OJHL scoring. Chris Ishmael had two assists for the Raiders. Cougars' Head Coach Mark Jooris: "It was exciting. I thought if we had executed on some of our opportunities, especially on odd-man rushes, we could have had that extra point." It was the fifth tie of the season and the second for the Cougars.

The game in Lindsay also went to extra time before the Cobourg Cougars' Kallaway Mercer tallied the winner in the 2-1 game. Tai York put the visitors ahead in the second period, then forty seconds into the third Boyd Stahlbaum netted his 15th of the campaign, this one on the powerplay. Affiliate goaltender Sam Dingle, up from the Port Hope Panthers, recorded his first OJHL win in making 26 saves while Ethan Fraser stopped a like number.

Team captain Jason Condotta had two goals as North York won 5-1 in St. Michael's. Three goals in the second period swung this one in the Rangers' favour. Bryce Sutherland had the Buzzers' goal, his 22nd of the season tied atop the leaders with the Huskies' Oliver Tarr. Christopher Castrignano scored the game winner and added an assist. The Rangers' win combined with the J.C's loss put them one point ahead in the South. 

The Toronto Junior Canadiens, on an eight game winning run, made their first trip to Minden to take on the Huskies, who edged them 4-3. A fast start put the home side up by three in the first frame before Liam Fedak got his first of two in the game. Christian Stevens reinforced the lead with the only goal of the second, the eventual game winner, on the powerplay, before Cooper Bertrand, also with the man-advantage, made it 4-2. All before Fedak's second, with just under a minute left in the third, set up a hectic finish. Patrick Saini had two assists for Haliburton and Tyler Fukasuka did likewise for the J.C's. He is now on a nine-game point scoring run with a goal and 13 assists. The only win on the night for a host club, their fifth in a row and it put the Huskies just four points behind Trenton.

SATURDAY - For the last two Saturday's nary a home team entered the winners circle. This trend was reversed in the Minden matinee where the Huskies beat the Cobourg Cougars 3-1 for their third win in three games this week. In the process they extended their winning streak to six. A goal by the Cougars' George Krotiris in period two stood up for the visitors until with just only six minutes left in the game Patrick Schaly got Haliburton rolling. Oliver Tarr had the game winner, his OJHL-leading 24th and Patrick Saini the empty-netter. Tarr and Saini both added an assist. For Saini 24 points in only 18 games, for Tarr 43 in 29. The win brought the Huskies to within two points of No. 1 Trenton in the East.

Before the game in Stouffville, the Spirit made three trades acquiring defenceman Riley Rogers from Haliburton and sending blueliner Cael Cavallin  to Pickering and captain Bailey Kirwin to their opponents of the evening – the Burlington Cougars. Kirwin was not dressed for the game. The Cougars had two power play goals in a four-goal outburst in the first period, added one more in the second and cruised to a 8-2 victory. Josh Belgrave had the hat trick and assisted on another two and Matt Zebedee had two goals and an assist. Jack Richard, Kaleb Tiessen and Josh Ziliotto accounted for the other Cougar markers. Belgrave, Richard and Zebedee are tied in club goal scoring with 18.  Hayden Simpson and Odaro Ewere the only Spirit players to get the puck past Kyle Metson. Two wins and a tie this week for the top team in the West.

In Port Credit, the Chargers had it easy against Caledon scoring three times in both the first and second periods en route to a 7-3 dismantling of the Admirals. Jack Tos had two goals and three points and Owen Sclisizzi a goal and two assists. Oakville native Brett Cowen scored his first in the league. All three Caledon goals came in the third period after the Chargers had scored seven unanswered.

SUNDAY - Before the game this afternoon at home, the North York Rangers made a trade with the Chargers with Daniel Baldassarra and Nicholas Cordeiro joining the club and Christopher Castrignano and Jackson Edwards moving to Mississauga. None of the four played in the game between the two teams at the 'Herb'. Forty minutes went by in this contest without a goal before the Rangers' jumped out on fire in the final stanza, scoring three times in a span of just over three minutes. Sean Clarke, Alexander Dimitriatis and Luca Rea found the net, the last two shorthanded. The 3-0 final was the third shutout of the season for James Gray and the sixth in total for the club who moved three points up on the Toronto Junior Canadiens atop the South. The J.C's hold three games in hand. The Rangers’ 46 points is also tops in the 21-team league.

The Tigers won their second game of the week in three tries by doubling the Royals 6-3. Nick Lamont, the Utopia-born forward, had two goals, captain Luc Reeve had a goal and three points, Justin Biraben and Hollander Thompson contributed a goal and an assist each and blueliner Ethan McFarland had the other goal. Nolan Boyd posted win No. 15. For the Royals, Shane Bondy (who had three points), Austin D'Orazio, and, with his first in the OJHL, 16-year old Cole Cooksey. Markham had two early leads in this one. The Tigers strengthened their hold on second in the North moving three points ahead of Collingwood.

The Buzzers got back to their winning ways at home to the Toronto Patriots by posting a 4-2 victory. Bryce Sutherland was front and centre again scoring the game winner six minutes into period three. It was the sixth GWG for him and his 23rd goal overall. The Patriots had two leads in the contest courtesy Carter Diceman and blueliner Noah Janicki, his first in the League. For the winners, Brad Somers had two goals, one while playing shorthanded, moving him just one point shy of the 50-mark to temporarily take the lead in league points. Oakville native goalie Jacob Gorinsky recorded his seventh victory of the season.

The Panthers had been roaring in their last two games and they hosted the Spirit in one of two evening contests but the result of this one would go into the 'upset' category. The visitors got off to a good start with goals from Jacob Roach and Peter Kioussis, on the power play, before Pickering pulled even in the second on goals by Myles Perry and Ben Pickell. Uxbridge-born Carson Whitson's seventh goal of the season was the winning one and it came just under seven minutes into the final frame. It was the second win this week for the Spirit doubling their previous figure. A 38-save performance from Peterborough Petes AAA product Ayden Bulmer helped them to their second road win of the season. At the other end Zach Roy stopped 34. Roy, the former OHLer in Hamilton, was presented his Warrior OJHL Goaltender of the Month award for November during the pre-game.

After having two scheduled games postponed due to COVID, the Trenton Golden Hawks took on the Muskies at home. The first period saw the 'Hawks ahead 2-1 but Nate Burelle, shorthanded, got the visitors on even terms in the second and a flurry of scoring followed- Will Everson put the Muskies ahead at 11:11 and found the net again just 10 seconds later. Eleven seconds after that, Trenton got one back on Dalton Bancroft's second of the game and less than two minutes later the OJHL’s  leading pointgetter  got his hat trick and the crazy second period ended with the teams tied at fours. The game winner for the Muskies came at the 19-minute mark of the third on Noah Pardy's goal. Wiith the Trenton net vacated, captain Will Jones made it a 6-4 Lindsay victory, their 13th of the campaign. Bancroft's four points saw him retake the OJHL scoring lead with 52 points.

Follow Ron Valentine on Twitter @ronandlynda