The McLean & Dickey Orillia Terriers wrapped up their back-to-back contests with the Caledon Golden Hawks in what was likely a first-round playoff preview Saturday night.
The Terriers won the first game of the set, 3-2, on the road last Sunday. But they weren’t as fortunate in front of a home crowd of 197 fans at Rotary Place.
The Terriers came out of the gate looking lethargic. The Golden Hawks applied the pressure early, leading the shot count 7-1 five minutes into the game. While the Terriers picked up the pace later in the period, they trailed going into the locker room after Golden Hawks forward James McLean scored his 20th of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes.
“You always want to start off better than that,” said Terriers captain Broderick Black. “It felt like we had no energy. Going forward, we need everybody going right from the opening faceoff."
The intensity ratcheted up in the second period. The 18-7-1 Terriers are fighting for top spot in the North Carruthers Division, while the 9-17-1 Golden Hawks are jockeying for a spot in this year’s playoffs.
Terriers goalie Wade Monague made a few big saves early in the period that sparked his teammates on the bench jump to their feet in excitement.
“I feed off it when the crowd and the guys go crazy,” Monague said. “It’s a feel-good moment.”
The saves gave the Terriers some momentum and it led to forward Sam Pink scoring his 11th of the year on a pass from Dylan Palomaki.
“If you make a big save it can give the guys a boost,” Monague said. “Making a big stop can give everyone confidence. It can also make or break the momentum."
Monague went on to make plenty more tough stops, steering away 26 of 29 shots on goal.
Seven minutes into the second, a pushing match ensued in the Terriers end between Golden Hawks forward Luke Camara and Black. They were both sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“He speared me back in our end,” Black explained. “This upcoming week is our last regular season week, so it’s starting to get a little chippy out there.”
In the third period, the Golden Hawks played puck possession hockey. They got the go-ahead goal three minutes in when forward Joey Furlano sniped one through traffic.
Then, with seven minutes to go, Terriers forward Mason Beck fanned on a pass in the Golden Hawks zone. Caledon forward Ayden Charlebois took advantage by scooping the puck up, skating to the other end of the rink, and feeding it cross-crease to forward Kyle Church for the game-winning goal.
Terriers leading goal scorer Josh Brown added a late tally, his 26th of the season, to bring the final score to 3-2. But they could not pot the equalizer.
Brown credits the Golden Hawks for their tough-to-play against work ethic and taking two of four regular-season meetings against the Terriers this season.
“They aren’t the biggest team, but they work hard,” he said. “This is a team that seems to surprise us every time.”
The best player on the ice on Saturday was Golden Hawks goaltender Mason Kameka, who stopped 35 of 37 shots.
“He must play baseball or something,” Brown said. “He’s got a good glove for sure.”
It’s now looking like the Terriers and Golden Hawks will meet again in the first round of the Provincial Junior Hockey League playoffs next month.
“Our barn in the playoffs gets electric,” Brown said. “Even though the energy wasn’t there tonight, I think we will feed off our crowd in the playoffs.”
The Terriers have just four games left on their regular-season schedule. The next one is Tuesday versus Penetang at Rotary Place. Game time is 9:10 p.m.
