It was another perfect week for the Haliburton County Huskies, racking up three more wins as the team continues to chase down the frontrunners atop the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s (OJHL) East Division.
It was an impressive showcase of the team’s depth, with 16 different players getting on the scoresheet in wins over the Aurora Tigers, Pickering Panthers, and North York Rangers. The results extend the Huskies winning streak to five games, while earning points in eight of the last nine.
The hometown club remains locked in third place in the division, six behind the Toronto Jr. Canadiens and seven ahead of the Wellington Dukes. The Trenton Golden Hawks, this week ranked as the nation’s best Jr. A team, top the standings – 11 points ahead of the Huskies.
Following a two month absence, the blue and white broke back into the Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 on Jan. 27, ranking 19th.
Huskies 5-0 Aurora
It was a dominant performance on the road Jan. 24, with the Huskies outshooting the Aurora Tigers 55-15 through three periods of play.
Declan Bowmaster, enjoying his second stint with the team, broke the deadlock 8:06 into the opening period for his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Nathan Poole and Tai York. Sharpshooter Deandres De Jesus added a second six minutes later, his 24th of the year, after being set up by Daniel Vasic and Cameron Hankai.
Poole helped himself to his second point of the game late in the period, beating the buzzer at 19:47 – assisted by Nolan Ling and Luke Hampel – to give the Huskies an unassailable lead.
Offensive defenceman Hankai notched his 10th of the season with a lone second period tally, assisted by Kaiden Thatcher and Ryan Goose. York then completed the scoring 17:36 into the final frame, assisted by De Jesus and Bowmaster, who each had two points on the game.
Goaltender Stephen Toltl earned a 15-save shutout.
Huskies 4-1 Pickering
The home side picked up where it left off the previous night on Saturday (Jan. 25), routing the Pickering Panthers 4-1 at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena.
Despite dominating the shot clock in the first, firing 21 pucks on the Pickering net and giving up only six in return, the Huskies faced a hot netminder in Gavin Betts. Noah Lodoen was able to sneak one in at 6:39, assisted by Hankai, but the Panthers’ Drew Mclennan tied things at 19:42.
Undeterred, the Huskies kept pushing and got their reward on the powerplay early in the second – Poole helping himself to his 21st goal of the season at 2:53. Alex Bradshaw and Ling were credited with assists.
Co-captain Ty Petrou made it a two-goal game at 11:45, giving the Huskies some breathing room. Assists on the play were given to Poole and blueliner Curtis Allen.
Kieran Litterick added some gloss to the scoreline in the third, striking for his third goal as a Husky at 17:34, assisted by Thatcher and Bradshaw.
Goaltender Tyler Hodges was named the game’s third star after making 24 saves in the win.
Huskies 5-2 North York
Braving the elements for a trip to the GTA Jan. 28, the Huskies earned two more points in a 5-2 win over the division’s last-place team the North York Rangers.
A run of four straight goals through the opening two periods, beginning with Litterick three-quarters of the way through the first and continuing with Gosse, Thatcher and Ling in the second, seemed to put this game to bed early. De Jesus had two assists, with lone apples going to Bowmaster, Chase Del Colombo, Hankai, Gosse, and Hampel.
Alexey Kulikov gave the few homes fans in attendance something to cheer about 8:40 into the third, breaking Toltl’s attempt at a second successive shutout. Vasic replied with the Huskies fifth goal at 9:33, assisted by Petrou and Poole, before a late marker by Andrew Artenosi finished the scoring.
