The Haliburton County Huskies shared some pre-Christmas cheer Nov. 18, giving the hometown fans a 5-1 win over the North York Rangers.
A couple of Husky players appeared in the Minden Hills Santa Claus parade earlier in the day as a festive crowd of 511 filled the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena.
Fresh off of the Eastern Canada Cup, blue and white captain Patrick Saini had early jump, as he opened the scoring at 9:59 of the first, with assists to line-mates, Ian Phillips and Ty Petrou.
The Huskies scored the lone goal of the second, as Nicholas Lamont potted one, with helpers to Lucas Vacca and Saini.
Noah Lodoen scored his first Husky goal at 4:42 of the third, from Saini and Jack Staniland.
The Rangers’ Carson Brown broke Husky goalie Brett Fullerton’s bid for a shutout, though he would go on to save 23 of 24 North York shots.
But, on route to 45 shots, the Huskies scored two more: Lodoen, from Aidan Yarde and Vacca and then Isaac Larmand, his first goal of the season, from Adam Smeeton and Lucas Marshall to make it a 5-1 game.
Saini told The Highlander it was a busy week after he and Petrou played four games in the Eastern Canada Cup before hitting the ice last Friday and Saturday, and again this past Wednesday. (Game not complete as of press time). Saini scored two goals and two assists in the showcase, while Petrou had a goal and an assist. The team, coached by Ryan Ramsay, had two wins and two losses.
“Obviously, it was good. It was also really nice to have Ty Petrou there. It’s always nice to have a teammate when you go to one of those things because there are so many variables, especially a linemate. I was pretty happy with it. I had a really good experience,” Saini said.
The captain added he feels good and is enjoying playing with Petrou and Phillips.
“That takes some of the stress off and kind of makes it easier just to skate around and be a little looser when you have two great players with you who really make it easy for me to do what I want to do out there.”
Commenting on the team playing at about .500, Saini said, “we’re ready to take that next step and win a bunch in a row, and I think we can make a pretty good run here and jump up the standings.
“I think everyone knows we’re not where we want to be right now, and we’ve expressed that in the room, but I think if you look too far ahead you start to suffer the game that you’re playing, so I think you have to be present and play in the moment, take one game at a time, but also understand that every game we’re pushing towards a common goal of jumping up in the standings and eventually winning a championship.”
Collingwood 4 Huskies 0
The Huskies came out of their mini-break Nov. 17 with a tough 4-0 loss to the red-hot Collingwood Blues.
The home team got off to an early lead at 9:02 of the first, off the stick off Calum Chau. In the second, Lucas Texmo padded the lead to 2-0. In the third, Spencer Young scored at 8:54 and Cameron Eke late, at 18:39, to seal the deal.
Fullerton turned aside 26 of 30 shots, while his counterpart, Noah Pak, saved all 19 of the blue and white attempts.
Saini said, “obviously, they’re a good team but I don’t think we performed very well. We weren’t happy with it as a group. I think we’re right there. We start putting together some things here and we can definitely give those guys a run for sure.”
Next up: The Huskies host the Aurora Tigers Nov. 25 for the Pink in the Rink Conquer Cancer event. Puck drop is 4 p.m. at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena.
Brett Fullerton prepares for an Eric He shot on goal.
