The Haliburton County Huskies stretched their undefeated streak to six games after a hard-fought come-from-behind 4-4 tie with the Toronto Junior Canadiens Jan. 14.
The blue and white travelled to the big city for Sunday’s road tilt fresh off the OJHL’s All-Star festivities, which saw captain Patrick Saini, rookie netminder Logan Kennedy and coaches Ryan Ramsay and Owen Flood fly the Huskies flag in Collingwood Jan. 12 and 13.
Ramsay was left to rue a slow start against the Canadiens, with the home side racing to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from former Husky Nicholas Athanasakos and Nolan Connolly, who was teed up by another former Haliburton product, Will Gourgouvelis. Connor Van Weelie made it a three-goal game 29 seconds into the second frame, giving the Huskies a mountain to climb.
“The opening period was one of our worst 20 minutes of the season. We only had four shots and just couldn’t get going. We didn’t start well at all,” Ramsay said.
Despite battling back and creating some openings in the second half of the middle frame, the Huskies went into the second intermission down 3-0.
Canadiens forward Evan Malkhassian then handed the visitors a lifeline 12 seconds into the third, taking a minor hooking penalty. Saini duly obliged on the man advantage, scoring 14 seconds into the powerplay – assisted by Jack Staniland and Ty Petrou – to bring the Huskies back into the game.
Canadiens forward Evan Malkhassian then handed the visitors a lifeline 12 seconds into the third, taking a minor hooking penalty. Saini duly obliged on the man advantage, scoring 14 seconds into the powerplay – assisted by Jack Staniland and Ty Petrou – to bring the Huskies back into the game.
Alex Bradshaw added a second for the blue and white at 13:44, assisted by Staniland and Ian Phillips.
As the Huskies pushed, they started to leave gaps at the back. Nathan Phillips took full advantage, scoring unassisted at 17:46 to re-establish the home side’s two goal advantage.
Saini immediately muted the celebrations, scoring his 30th goal of the season at 18:07, assisted by Staniland. With the seconds trickling away, Ramsay called Fullerton to the bench, sending Lucas Stevenson on as the extra man. The veteran power forward tied the game with 13 seconds remaining on the clock to send the Huskies bench into a frenzy.
While both teams pushed for a winner, they couldn’t be separated through two overtime periods – giving the Huskies their third tie of the season.
My message was ‘good job responding in the last period, but if we hadn’t started so badly, we wouldn’t have needed to do that’,” Ramsay said. “But all credit to the boys, they didn’t stop working. They got better as the game went along, and I always say good teams find ways to get points. The stakes are so tight right now, that point could be crucial come the end of the season.”
The Huskies added three blueliners to their ranks last week, bringing in 20-yearold defenceman Matthew Milic from the Burlington Cougars and teenage talents Tyson Rismond, 17, and Zach Wilson, 16, from the Ontario Hockey League’s North Bay Battalion.
Milic figures to see big minutes as a top four option in Haliburton, with Ramsay saying he had been chasing the six-foot defenceman’s signature for most of the season.
“Matt is a guy we’ve liked for a long time. He’s a veteran of this league, a good puck-moving defenceman who is more than capable on the powerplay. I think he can help us in a big way down the stretch,” Ramsay said.
Wilson and Rismond, who both featured against the Canadiens, bolster the Huskies depth on the blueline. Their move to Haliburton County came about due to Ramsay’s ties to the Battalion, where he’s served in a player development role since the summer.
“For them to play meaningful hockey and intense games, it’s only going to help their hockey development. We didn’t have much depth on defence and we didn’t want to be in a position like last year, where we had a couple of injuries in the playoffs and could only dress four defenders,” Ramsay said. “Now we’re feeling more confident heading into the last months of the season, and, hopefully, looking to playoffs.”
There has been one departure, with forward Nicholas Lamont leaving the team for personal reasons. Ramsay said he hopes to welcome the 18-year-old, acquired from the Collingwood Blues in November, back before the end of the season, but isn’t sure on a return.
The team is back in action Jan. 19 for a road tilt against the table-topping Trenton Golden Hawks before welcoming the Burlington Cougars to S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena Jan. 20. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.
