Haliburton County Huskies forward Isaac Larmand believes the local team is one of the most in-form squads in the Ontario Junior Hockey League right now, winning back-to-back games last weekend to strengthen their claim on a playoff position.
The 19-year-old alternate captain, in his third season with the Huskies, has been a key contributor in recent weeks as the blue and white have surged up the East Conference standings. He was on the scoresheet again Dec. 5, registering a goal and assist in a 5-1 road win over the Wellington Dukes, before a 4-1 victory over the North York Rangers on home ice Dec. 6.
“Getting two wins to start the month is a bit of a confidence-booster – I like the way we’re competing and fighting right now,” Larmand said. “There’s lots of games in December. I think this can be a month where we push ourselves and move up the standings and try to get into the best position possible for playoffs. We’re all on the same page with our goals.”
The Huskies are still in fifth position in the standings, with 15 wins, 10 losses, one tie and four overtime losses in 30 games. They’re five points back of the Pickering Panthers and Newmarket Hurricanes in third and fourth, and seven back of the Trenton Golden Hawks in second.
There are six games remaining on the Huskies schedule in 2025 – they’re on the road Dec. 12 against the Aurora Tigers, travel to Cobourg Dec. 15, welcome the Oakville Blades to Minden Dec. 18, and head south down Hwy. 35 for a match-up with the Lindsay Muskies Dec. 19. After the Christmas break, they have a home double-header Dec. 29 and 31 against the Mississauga Steelheads and Muskies.
Building momentum
Travelling to Wellington last Friday, the Huskies knew they had a mountain to climb. The hometown club had won just two of 12 match ups away to the Dukes since 2021, but Larmand said, given recent results, confidence was high.
An even opening period ended with no score, but the Huskies flew out the gates in the second, taking control early. Ryan Gosse broke the deadlock 6:45 in, notching his 10th goal of the season unassisted to give the blue and white something to hold onto. Larmand doubled the advantage at 12:11, his 12th of the year coming on the powerplay from Carson Durnin and Josh Denes. Brody Coe added a late third at 19:40, from Jack Cook and Chase Del Colombo.
The Dukes threatened to respond in the third, hitting back at 8:07 to break Owen Edwards’ shutout, but Christopher Brydges and Cook responded with two more powerplay markers late in the period to make sure of the result.
“That’s always a tough barn to go into, they’ve got pretty good fans who create a good atmosphere. We’ve had some difficult times playing there in the past, but we knew exactly what we had to do this time and came away with a huge win,” Larmand said.
The scoreline in Saturday’s home tilt against North York could have been double what it was, such was the Huskies dominance. The blue and white outshot the Rangers 52-19.
Durnin and fourth-liner Mike Mardula were standouts, each helping themselves to two goals and an assist in the win. Lewis Hergaarden, Carter Petrie, Denes and Gosse also had assists.
After taking points in 10 of their last 12 games, Larmand said this Huskies team has turned a corner.
“Early on, we had a very young team where everyone was learning new systems and how to play in this league. We’ve made some changes, but now a couple months in I think all the guys are buying in and pulling in the same direction,” Larmand said. “Our special teams have been really good recently, so we’re performing in all situations.”
