Haliburton County Huskies head coach Ryan Ramsay has called on his young team to improve defensively after giving up leads in three games last week.
The blue and white returned home winless from the OJHL Governors’ Showcase, held in Buffalo, New York, losing a close game with the Oakville Blades 4-3 Sept. 25 before being bested 3-2 by the Toronto Junior Canadiens the next day. The hometown team battled to a 4-4 tie with the Cobourg Cougars on home ice on Saturday – their second straight stalemate at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena.
“We’re a lot younger this year, a little bit greener. We’ve got a lot of new faces still learning our system. Last year, I think we would have found ways to win those games,” Ramsay told The Highlander. “Right now, we just can’t close teams out. The guys are working, they’re playing really hard. We’re in the games – we’ve just got to find a way to get the result.”
A fast start to Saturday’s encounter saw the Huskies earn an early powerplay opportunity – the visitors’ Kaiden Harmon sent to the box 1:20 in for high sticking. While the home team created some openings, Ryan Piros stood tall in the Cougars net.
The game was scoreless until the final quarter of the period, when Gavin McGaheySmith took centre stage – roofing the puck into the net at 16:38, assisted by Jack Staniland. The lead lasted less than two minutes, with Jordan Fuller tying things up at 18:29.
The home side got their noses ahead again in the second frame, Lucas Vacca scoring his second goal of the season somewhat fortuitously – sneaking the puck in off Piros’ pad from wide at 9:50, assisted by Izayah Luddington and Lucas Stevenson.
This time, the Huskies were ahead for barely over a minute, with Riley Pitt evening the score at 11:04.
It was one-way traffic early in the third, with Aidan Yarde and Johnathan Mead testing Piros. It was captain, Patrick Saini, who broke the deadlock at 3:45, tallying his team-leading seventh goal of the season unassisted.
After Yarde was tripped, the Huskies went on the powerplay and wasted no time doubling their advantage – Luddington going bar down with a snipe from the left faceoff circle at 5:40 to the delight of the home crowd.
Almost immediately following the restart, the Huskies found themselves killing a penalty, after Hunter Martell was sent to the box for roughing. The Cougars wasted no time capitalizing on the opportunity, with captain Andy Reist making it a one-goal game at 6:16.
The Huskies defended well through the mid-stages of the period, but were outmanned in the final minutes. Alex Bradshaw, acquired mid-week from the OHL’s Flint Firebirds, took a rare two minute illegal equipment minor at 18:15. The Cougars then pulled Piros, giving them a 6-on-4 opportunity to close the game, and they took full advantage – tying things at 18:57 through Pitt.
The teams battled for two overtime periods, but Piros and Vlad Visan, manning the Huskies net, stood tall, combining for 14 saves.
The result leaves the Huskies in sixth place in the East Conference, with 10 points from nine games.
“We’re still happy with our team, the way we’re progressing. I think offensively we’re doing great, but guys have got to learn how to play without the puck,” Ramsay said, noting the team was missing the presence of alternate captain Ian Phillips, out for the next three to four weeks with a knee injury picked up in Buffalo.
“We battle hard – it’s just some games we’re there for 50 minutes, some games it’s 55 minutes. But we let in a couple of goals bam, bam (after scoring) and that’s killing us right now. We’ve got to figure out how to play a complete 60-minute game. The minor lapses are really hurting us right now,” Ramsay added.
The Huskies will be back in action Friday on the road against the Pickering Panthers, before welcoming the Wellington Dukes to town on Saturday. Puck drop in Minden is set for 4 p.m.
