Haliburton County Huskies head coach Ryan Ramsay is challenging his team to put their recent struggles behind them and re-establish themselves as one of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s top contenders.
The hometown team slumped to successive defeats last weekend, dropping a 4-2 decision on the road Friday (Oct. 27) to the St. Michael’s Buzzers and losing Saturday’s (Oct. 28) tilt in Minden against the Cobourg Cougars 4-1.
The results saw the Huskies slip to 10th in the league’s East Conference – outside a playoff spot – with the team boasting a negative record of seven wins, nine defeats and two ties.
“Costly errors and untimely mistakes are really killing us,” Ramsay told The Highlander. “Against St. Mike’s, I thought we played well for the first part of the game, then there were a couple of slips and we fell into a hole… same thing Saturday. It’s different players, but the same kind of issues where a guy loses his battle, loses his guy and they go and score.
“When we’re in a little bit of a slump too in terms of scoring goals, it’s obviously not a good combination,” Ramsay added, noting the team needs more offensive contributions from depth players.
The Huskies started Friday’s tilt on top, taking the game to a Buzzers outfit that had won four of its last five games on home ice. Charlie Fink gave the visitors the lead 4:03 into the opening frame, assisted by Ty Petrou and Nicholas Lamont – acquired via trade from the Collingwood Blues last week.
There was a new face between the sticks for the Huskies – 19-year-old Brett Fullerton, who has split time over the past two seasons between the Blues and the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit. He made some good early stops to keep the Huskies on top, but was beaten midway through the period, David Green tying the game at 10:25. The Buzzers landed a killer blow late on, David Elmy scoring his 16th goal of the season with 13 seconds remaining in the first.
Brandon Cohen added a powerplay marker for the Buzzers five minutes into the second, after Jack Staniland was punished for goaltender interference. Petrou got the Huskies back into the game at 11:59, notching his fourth goal of the year assisted by Raine Nadeau and Patrick Saini.
That was as good as it got for the blue and white, who gave up a fourth in the final frame, Julian Campoli beating Fullerton at 10:44.
Cobourg 4 Minden 1
Welcoming the Cougars to town Saturday for Pink in the Rink, the Huskies wanted to lay down a marker and get one over their fierce rival. Their previous encounter, at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena Sept. 30, ended in a 4-4 tie.
It was a tense opening, with both sides taking turns controlling the puck. The Huskies had a few openings, but couldn’t find a way past Ryan Piros in the Cougars goal. Gavin McGahey-Smith took a tripping penalty midway through the period, giving the dangerous Cobourg powerplay a chance to get on the board. Trevor Hoskin, the team’s leading scorer, wasted no time, firing past Fullerton at 11:05 for his 13th goal of the season.
Hoskin added his second of the game during the middle frame, notching at 4:52 to put the Huskies into a hole.
Saini provided some hope of a fight back, getting the home side on the board 7:20 into the third, assisted by Lucas Stevenson and Lucas Vacca, but it was short lived. Matt Mueller re-established a two-goal lead for the Cougars at 14:08, with Jack Falkner adding an empty-netter at 18:47.
Ramsay said his team needs to retain their focus during games, even when things aren’t going their way.
“We need to stay true to our principles and practice good habits – hitting the net, stopping on pucks, finishing hits. Sometimes, for an amateur hockey player, when things aren’t going their way, they tend to veer off from what got them here. They get into their own head and end up doing more damage. We’re telling the guys they just need to stay the course and work hard,” Ramsay said.
“When you’re in a slump, I always preach working harder. If you do that and are persistent, you’ll get out of it,” he added.
The Huskies are back in action Saturday when they welcome the Buzzers to Minden. Puck drop is 4 p.m. They will be at home again Tuesday, Nov. 2, when the Stouffville Spirit come to town. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
Pink in the Rink jerseys are available for purchase, with money supporting cancer research. Ramsay said they can be bought at any home game until Nov. 25 – when the team will host its second Pink in the Rink event, going against the Aurora Tigers.
