Haliburton County Huskies sharpshooter Deandres De Jesus believes a little adversity might be just what’s needed for this young team to get its season back on track after dropping two games in OJHL action last week
The blue and white lost a barnburner on home ice Nov. 14, surrendering eight goals to the visiting Wellington Dukes in an 8-5 defeat. The team followed up with a 6-0 loss to the Collingwood Blues in Minden on Saturday (Nov. 16).
After a blistering 11-game win streak propelled the Huskies to the top of the OJHL East Division standings last month, the team has lost four of six games in November – including the past three straight.
“It’s been a bit of a challenging week – we’ve lost a few games now after having a great start. We’ve got to figure things out,” De Jesus said. “We got into a bit of a special teams battle with Wellington and Collingwood and we’ve got to do better – we’ve got to up the goals, create good looks. But overall, I think we’ve got to work harder.
“These teams know we are a top team; they know we’ve been in the national rankings. They upped their game, and we didn’t. They outworked us and that showed in the final scores,” he added.
With the league’s top players and coaches – including Huskies bench boss Ryan Ramsay and seven of his charges – in Smiths Falls this week for the ‘Battle of Ontario’ showcase between the OJHL and Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), there’s been a pause in both leagues’ schedules.
As such, the remaining Huskies players have had a full week to iron out some kinks before play resumes Nov. 25 for a road tilt with rival Cobourg Cougars.
“For a lot of our guys this is their first year in the league, so they’re still developing. It’s hard trying to find your way in this league,” said De Jesus, a three-year veteran. As one of the older heads in the locker room, he said, “I tell them not to get discouraged. Don’t put your head down when you make a mistake – use it as motivation to keep going, to keep getting better.”
The Huskies had to withstand a relentless offensive barrage from the Dukes, who fired 41 pucks on goal across the 60 minutes – outshooting the home side in all three periods.
De Jesus enjoyed a four-point night – scoring his second hat-trick of the season to take his goal total to 18 in 24 games. Nathan Poole and Adam Smeeton also netted for the Huskies.
It was a tough night for the team’s goaltending tandem Corbin Votary and Carter Nadon. Starter Votary was yanked after allowing three goals on 13 shots in the opening frame, but Nadon didn’t fare much better – allowing four goals on 27 shots the rest of the way.
There wasn’t much for the 435 fans inside S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena to cheer for in Saturday’s drubbing, as the Huskies were shutout by Collingwood – last season’s OJHL champions.
The game resembled more of a wrestling match in the second and third periods, with the Huskies racking up 45 penalty minutes, and the Blues 47 PIMs. The Huskies went 2-6 on the penalty kill and 0-7 on the powerplay.
Next up
The Cougars are up next and De Jesus believes a match-up with the Huskies fiercest rivals is the perfect opportunity for he and his teammates to steady the ship.
In their only other meeting this season, on Nov. 2, the Huskies dropped a 5-2 result in Minden, their first defeat in front of home fans since opening night Sept. 7. The Cougars scored two shorthanded goals that day to condemn the blue and white to defeat.
“This is a chance for us to get one back right away – I think we were the better team first time around. We had a tough time with special teams, but we’ve been working on that all week. At this point, we know what we need to do” De Jesus said.
The Huskies play again on the road Nov. 29, against the Pickering Panthers, before returning home Nov. 30 against the Aurora Tigers. Centreman Vincent Gazquez, acquired from the Collingwood Blues this week, is expected to draft straight into the Huskies lineup.
