The Haliburton County Huskies survived a late third period flurry to close out a 5-4 win over the Trenton Golden Hawks Saturday in Minden, extending their winning streak to eight games.
Head coach and general manager, Ryan Ramsay, said players and team staff had two days off over the Thanksgiving break after giving everything in their battle with tabletopping Trenton.
“It was an exciting game – we responded really well to what they were doing, systems they were running. I think we were in control for the most part,” Ramsay said. “The boys are playing with confidence; you can see that on the ice with the plays they’re making. They deserve all the praise they’re getting right now.”
There was a big-game feel inside the arena before puck drop, with 425 local fans in attendance to cheer on their hometown team. Trenton was quickest out of the gate, dominating much of the opening period. They peppered the Huskies goal in the opening frame, forcing home netminder Corbin Votary into 13 saves.
The game sprang into action in the second, with Huskies blueliner Curtis Allen getting on the board early – scoring his second of the season at 3:56, assisted by Noah Lodoen and Kaiden Thatcher. David Fournier equalized at 8:32, before Nathan Poole and Chase Del Colombo re-established the Huskies lead with tallies at 10:20 and 16:04.
With the seconds ticking down, Fournier fired a hopeful puck from centre ice that found its way past Votary – “a freak, fluke goal,” Ramsay said – to make it a one-goal game heading into the third. Fournier’s floater went in at 19:59. O The league’s most potent powerplay went to work mid-way through the final frame – first Poole helped himself to his seventh of the season at 8:12, assisted by Alex Bradshaw and Ty Petrou, with De Jesus following up at 10:10, from Petrou and Carson Littlejohn.
There was a late scare – Trenton fought back with goals at 17:14 and 19:31 to make for a nervy finish, but the Huskies hung on for a momentous win.
Ramsay said he was as proud of his team for what he saw in the closing 30 seconds as for the previous 59 minutes and change.
“With such a young team, adversity can sometimes be your best friend. To be up all those goals and then it goes down to the last second, as a coach I love that because you know everyone is dialed in, they’re giving everything they’ve got until the final buzzer. That’s the sort of thing playoff hockey is about,” Ramsay said. “If you don’t have any of that adversity during the year, you have no clue how to react when it does come.”
He reserved special praise for assistant coach Jordan Bailey, who has transformed the Huskies powerplay into the best in the league. Through 13 games, they’ve scored on 18 out of 45 opportunities on the man advantage, for a 40 per cent scoring rate.
Huskies 4-1 Aurora
A four-goal opening period blitz was enough for the Huskies to secure two points on the road Oct. 11.
A pair from Petrou, one on the powerplay, and markers from Littlejohn and Tyler Oletic stunned the Tigers into submission. Goaltender Carter Nadon had his shutout ruined by Kyle Baston 2:33 into the final frame.
The blue and white are back in action this evening (Oct. 17) for a road tilt with the Caledon Admirals. They welcome the Buffalo Jr. Sabres to Minden Oct. 19, puck drop at 4 p.m., before traveling to Stouffville to face the Spirit Oct. 20.
