Three new additions played key roles as the Haliburton County Huskies got one over fierce rival the Cobourg Cougars Nov. 25, with the hometown team earning a confidence-boosting 4-2 win.
The result stopped a three-game losing skid for the Huskies, who have dropped to fourth in the OJHL East Division with 36 points from 26 games. The team has gone 18-8 on the season.
Head coach and general manager Ryan Ramsay lauded the impact of forwards Vincent Gazquez, William Stewart, and Stefan Forgione – who all landed with the team last week.
Nineteen-year-old forward Gazquez joined Nov. 19 from the Collingwood Blues after putting up five points in 17 games with the West Division frontrunners. The Huskies were busy again Nov. 24, acquiring Forgione and Stewart from the King Rebellion in exchange for rookie Sam Black.
The 5’10” Forgione spent parts of two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between 2021 and 2024, appearing in 28 games for the Mississauga Steelheads and North Bay Battalion. Big-bodied winger Stewart, a U.S. national, played two years with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs before appearing in 13 games for the expansion Rebellion this OJHL season.
“I think all the new guys looked really good… Forgione is a guy I know and have liked for a while; we specifically targeted him. Stewart is a good player, he was off to a slow start in King but I have some contacts in Niagara who spoke highly of him. I watched a lot of film on him and we think he can help us,” Ramsay said. “Vinny is someone who, if you look at his track record in rep hockey, he’s always produced. He was the odd man out in Collingwood, but he’s come in, had a great attitude and practiced really well. We’re happy with all three pick-ups.”
The Huskies went into Monday’s match-up buoyed by Ramsay’s return and that of seven players, who were part of the ‘Battle of Ontario’ all-star festivities in Smiths Falls Nov. 19 and 20.
Co-captain Ty Petrou, fresh off scoring in the all-star finals for the winning Team Rodrigues – coached by Ramsay, got things started early in Cobourg, scoring his 12th goal of the season 3:46 in, assisted by Forgione.
It didn’t take long for Stewart to get acclimated to his new surroundings, notching his first in blue and white at 13:10, set up by Kaiden Thatcher and Carson Littlejohn.
Outshooting their rival 11-4 in the first frame, Ramsay said it was one of the team’s most complete periods of the season.
“We played really well – Cobourg just didn’t have an answer for us,” Ramsay said.
Chase Del Colombo made it a three-goal game early in the second, scoring his third of the year from Alex Bradshaw and Isaac Larmand.
Beckett Ewart brought Cobourg back into it a couple minutes later, but the Huskies were relentless on the forecheck, causing multiple turnovers that tilted the ice. Bradshaw scored the team’s fourth halfway through the middle frame, assisted by Deandres De Jesus and Littlejohn.
There was some penalty trouble in the back half of the period, with the Huskies playing 10-plus minutes shorthanded. Noah Lodoen was given a two-minute minor at 10:25, with Forgione earning simultaneous two-minute minor instigator/aggressor and five-minute major fighting penalties. He was ejected from the game alongside Thatcher, who was tossed for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Tyson Rismond took a two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct at 15:47, Bradshaw served a twominute bench/coach penalty at 16:16, and Nathan Poole was ejected at 17:09 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The team put on a penalty killing clinic, giving up a solo powerplay strike from Nathan Whipkey at 17:09.
Goaltender Carter Nadon saved all four shots he faced in the third, closing out the win.
“We had to put up with a lot of very questionable calls, but it’s good the guys stayed the course and picked up the win,” Ramsay said. “We’ve not been where we wanted to be, we had a bad spell before the ‘All-Star’ break. We were lacking some depth in our lineup, which we addressed this week.
“We’ve got a team now where we can run more lines during difficult situations. We’ve got powerplay specialists, guys that excel on the penalty kill – every role is just as important as the other, so it’s good that guys are stepping up now,” he added.
The Huskies are back in action Nov. 29 on the road in Pickering. They’ll be back in Minden Nov. 30 to take on the Aurora Tigers. Puck drop is 4 p.m.
