A late Alex Bradshaw game-winner in double overtime secured a 5-4 road victory for the Haliburton County Huskies Oct. 20, extending the team’s winning streak to 11 games.
The blue and white earned three more wins last week – besting the Caledon Admirals 6-3 on the road Oct. 17 and slaying the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 3-1 on home ice Saturday, before narrowly squeaking past the Stouffville Spirit away on Sunday. With the wins, the Huskies have climbed above the Trenton Golden Hawks into first place in the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s East Division.
With the second longest active winning streak across Canada’s nine Jr. A hockey leagues – one game back of the Central Canada Hockey League’s Rockland Nationals – the Huskies climbed eight spots into sixth position in the national rankings, a new franchise record.
“It’s obviously hard to say things aren’t going great – being on an 11-game winning streak and sitting in first place in our division, it’s fantastic,” Bradshaw told The Highlander Oct. 21. “The guys are happy. As a team, I think we’re really gelling right now. It’s been a great way to start the year.”
Boasting the league’s top scorer Nathan Poole, averaging 2.07 points-per-game with 31 in 15 appearances, fellow offensive stalwarts Ty Petrou and Deandres De Jesus, top blueliners Carson Littlejohn and Raine Nadeau, and a handful of talented, enthusiastic rookies, Bradshaw believes this year’s team has all the ingredients to push for a championship. U N T O
Asked what separates this dominant Huskies side from the borderline playoff outfit he was on last season, Bradshaw said team spirit is at an all-time high. C “
We had a lot of great players last year – this year is no different, but I think the big thing is how much we’re gelling as a team. From our defencemen, to forwards, to goaltending – everybody is playing a part and reaching the levels they need to hit to H make a difference,” Bradshaw said. “Right now, we’re getting that early jump on the season and those teams who are still figuring things out, which is great.”
He said the sprightly team – the second youngest in the league – has talked about the Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings but aren’t paying much attention at this point in the season. The only focus, Bradshaw says, is the next game – Friday on the road in Pickering.
“We just want to keep this winning streak going as long as we can,” Bradshaw said.
Huskies 6-3 Caledon
The 20-year-old was in fine form last Thursday, registering a team-high three points – one of them shorthanded, in a blowout victory over the Admirals.
Bradshaw had the team’s second and sixth goals, while assisting on a third period De Jesus snipe. Curtis Allen, Ryder Dagenais and Tyler Oletic had the other goals for the blue and white. Petrou had a pair of assists, ditto De Jesus, with solitary apples going to Dagenais, Ryan Gosse, Cole Brooks, Noah Lodoen, Isaac Larmand, and Adam Smeeton.
Huskies 3-1 Buffalo
There were 411 roaring fans in attendance Saturday as the Huskies kept their impressive run alive with a hard-fought win over their American rivals.
A quickfire pair of goals in the first period – by Dagenais at 13:39 and Larmand at 15:13 – put the Huskies in complete control early on. Buffalo responded midway through the second, Cam Doran potting his seventh of the season at 13:45, before defenceman Camron Hankai made sure of the points 3:01 into the final frame.
Young goaltender Carter Nadon earned the win, making 27 saves on 28 shots – good enough for a .964 save percentage. It was the 17-year-old’s fifth win of the season.
Huskies 5-4 Stouffville
Fans were treated to a classic on Sunday as the visiting Huskies held their nerve to survive a late Spirit fightback. Poole led the team with three points – scoring the first and third goals and assisting on Petrou’s powerplay strike 16:17 into the middle frame.
The Huskies went into the final period up by two but soon found themselves in trouble, with Stouffville rallying late to force overtime. Gosse had the blue and white’s other marker.
With the scores tied through one-and-ahalf extra frames, Bradshaw took centre stage. Positioning himself in front of the net, he waited patiently as Petrou and Hankai worked the puck in his direction. When it arrived, the team’s number 16 made no mistake.
“I was just ecstatic – it’s hard not to be any time you get a winner in overtime, but to get one that keeps a streak going, it was a cool moment,” Bradshaw said, giving the credit to his linemates for finding him with the puck at the perfect opportunity.
After Friday’s road tilt in Pickering the Huskies host the third-place St. Michael’s Buzzers at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena on Saturday. Puck drop is 4 p.m.
