After another split weekend, winning on home ice against the St. Michael’s Buzzers Nov. 9 and then losing away to the Toronto Jr. Canadiens Nov. 10, Haliburton County Huskies head coach Ryan Ramsay has called on some his team’s secondary scorers to step up their game.
Following a routine 4-2 win over the Buzzers in Minden on Saturday, the Huskies followed up with a narrow 1-0 defeat in the city. Despite controlling much of the game, the blue and white couldn’t find an answer for Daniel Dirracolo in the Canadiens goal, who turned away all 23 shots he faced.
“Saturday, I thought, was a good win, but Sunday got away from us. We outchanced Toronto while five-on-five. I thought we played OK – we had five or seven guys really going, but there’s some other guys that need to step up and play better,” Ramsay said.
“We’ve been getting a lot of effort from the same players, but we’re going to need some secondary effort from guys who have been pretty quiet,” he added.
The head coach reserved special praise for young goaltender Carter Nadon, who got the nod in both games last weekend.
Ramsay said the 17-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie was always slated to start against the Buzzers, but his impressive play in front of 505 fans at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena, where he recorded a seventh successive victory, earned Nadon back-to-back starts.
“I think he deserved it – he’s been playing well. And I think he showed on Sunday what he can do, turning aside pretty well everything they threw at him,” Ramsay said, describing the Canadiens lone goal as a fluke play. “The guy shot it from the corner of the ice, it hit Carter on the shoulder and bounced in.”
Nadon’s early season play earned him a call-up to the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s All-Rookie roster for a planned exhibition against the best up-and-comers from the Central Canada Hockey League. The Battle of Ontario will take place Nov. 19 and 20 in Smiths Falls.
Across 10 appearances, Nadon boasts a 1.61 goals against average and .941 save percentage – some of the best numbers in the league, Ramsay said. Fellow netminder Corbin Votary has 10 wins and five losses, with a 3.15 goals against average and 0.894 save percentage. Ramsay believes the duo is one of the best tandems in the OJHL.
“They’ve given us a chance to win every night,” he said. As of Nov. 11, the Huskies maintained their position within the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s ‘Top 20’ standings, sitting in eighth place. It’s the team’s fifth straight week on the list.
Huskies 4-2 St. Mike’s
Rookie blueliner Camron Hankai – another call-up to next weekend’s ‘Battle of Ontario’ series – gave his reputation as one of the league’s top young offensive defencemen a jolt Saturday against the Buzzers, helping himself to two goals in the opening period.
The 17-year-old was assisted by Deandres De Jesus and Adam Smeeton at 2:32 and again by Ty Petrou and Isaac Larmand at 15:38.
The Buzzers fought back with goals either side of the first intermission – Jesse Venturo making it a one-goal game with four minutes to play in the first and Willem Kerr tying things shorthanded 2:29 into the second.
Noah Lodoen potted the game winner 86 seconds into the final frame, assisted by Smeeton and Tyson Rismond, with De Jesus helping himself to a late empty-netter – his 15th goal of the season.
Canadiens 1-0 Huskies
Petrou, fresh off being named the OJHL East Division player of the month for October, put up a team-high four shots during Sunday’s drab defeat against Toronto.
The Huskies had 11 shots in the opening period but couldn’t find the go-ahead goal. The Canadiens came into the game in the second, with Brett Bouchard providing the perfect end at 19:44, scoring the game’s only tally.
The Huskies went 0-3 on the powerplay, while successfully killing off a pair of minor penalties.
Jr. A hockey action will be back in Minden tonight (Nov. 14) as the Huskies welcome the Wellington Dukes, puck drop at 7 p.m. The hometown team also hosts the Collingwood Blues Nov. 16, puck drop at 4 p.m.
