Haliburton County Huskies head coach Ryan Ramsay said he’s been impressed by a recent run that has seen his team win six of its last seven games, including two this week, to keep pace with rivals atop the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s East Conference.
With two games to play before the league goes on a Christmas break, Ramsay is calling on his team to draw inspiration from the festive season and do their best Ebenezer Scrooge impressions with pivotal games against the Markham Royals and Trenton Golden Hawks on the horizon – give nothing away.
The team travels to Markham Dec. 20 before welcoming the table-topping Golden Hawks to town Dec. 21. The latter will be a major test of the Huskies’ credentials, with the Golden Hawks undefeated in 19 games and losing just once since their last visit to the Highlands – a 5-4 home win Oct. 12.
“It’s a big game, probably our biggest of the year yet… going in, we’ve got to try to keep the guys focused and not thinking too far ahead. At the end of the day, they’re kids – big kids – and they’re excited to get home for the holidays… but we have a job to do first,” Ramsay said. “With the standings the way they are, these four points coming up are huge.”
The Huskies sit third in the division with 23 wins and nine losses, good for 46 points – five back of the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in second and 12 behind the Golden Hawks.
In recent wins over the Pickering Panthers, a 4-1 victory in Minden Dec. 14, and the Lindsay Muskies, a 4-2 win in a rare midweek afternoon tilt on the road Dec. 17, Ramsay credited some of his team’s depth players for stepping up.
Co-captain Ty Petrou remains out with an upper-body injury, while points leader Nathan Poole – who has 15 goals and 30 assists in 45 games – missed Tuesday’s ‘Battle of Hwy. 35’.
“We’ve had some guys really step up to the plate and show they can be leaders. They’ve really stood up to the challenge and I think we showed great resilience getting another four points,” Ramsay said.
Huskies 4-2 Lindsay
It was a horror start for the blue and white, who found themselves two goals behind within minutes in Lindsay.
“The first 10 minutes were probably our worst as a team this year,” Ramsay said, with Joaquin Gonzalez and Nole Faulkner beating Huskies netminder Tyler Hodges back-to-back at 2:34 and 3:10 to start the game.
The Huskies rallied late in the first as they chased the Muskies. Deandres De Jesus potted his 20th of the season at 15:19, a powerplay marker assisted by Declan Bowmaster and Cameron Hankai. Seventeen-year-old defenceman Hankai levelled the game at 19:17.
Hodges stood tall in the second, turning away all 11 Muskies shots as Haliburton took control. The team had to wait until 5:54 into the third for the go-ahead goal, Stefan Forgione blasting in his second of the year, teed up by Luke Hampel and Isaac Larmand.
Larmand made sure of the result with a powerplay goal late in the period, assisted by Forgione and Hankai, who had a three-point game.
Huskies 4-1 Pickering
It was a comfortable afternoon on home ice Saturday for the Huskies, who led for almost the entire game.
Poole helped himself to his 15th goal of the year 1:11 in, assisted by Alex Bradshaw and Hankai. Sixfoot-three power forward Bradshaw went from set-up man to goal scorer at 9:10, ripping one past Gavin Betts in the Pickering net to give the home side some breathing room. Poole and Bowmaster had points on the tally – Bowmaster’s first since rejoining the Huskies earlier this month.
Blake Wright pegged the Huskies back 30 seconds into the final frame, but Ryder Dagenais shut down any hope of a comeback at 2:31 with his eighth of the year. Lodoen added a shorthanded empty netter with seconds remaining to add some gloss to the score.
Hodges made 36 saves in the win.
“He’s making saves when we need him to, which really helps the confidence of the team,” Ramsay said.
After the Golden Hawks visit Dec. 21, puck drop at 4 p.m., the Huskies welcome the Stouffville Spirit Dec. 29 and the Muskies Dec. 31. Both games have a special 2 p.m. start time.
