The Orillia Terriers continue to prove they are a legitimate contender in the Provincial Junior Hockey League.
The vastly improved local Jr. C hockey team earned five of a possible six points on the weekend, as they won twice and lost in overtime in a span of four days.
Orillia capped its stellar stretch Sunday with a dramatic 3-2 win in Hanover. Leading scorer Corey Miller tallied the game winner with just 39 seconds left in regulation time to provide the razor-thin margin of victory.
Josh Brown and Kyle Fischer scored second-period power-play goals to tie the Barons 2-2 and that’s how the score remained until Miller’s heroics. Rookie rearguard Ayden Dooley continued his strong play; the 16-year-old assisted on both goals.
Orillia outshot their hosts in Hanover 35-20; Jason Cumbo stopped 18 of 20 shots to pick up the win between the pipes.
That hard-fought road victory came less than 12 hours after the Terriers skated to a 2-0 triumph over the rival Alliston Hornets.
In that well-played contest, Brown broke a scoreless tie early in the second period and forward Owen King cemented the win with a last-minute empty-net goal.
That sent more than 440 fans at Rotary Place home happy. It was the Terriers’ first home game in two weeks and the home side was full value for the win, as they out-hustled the visitors and out-shot the Hornets 37-22. Cumbo made 22 stops to record his second shutout of the season.
But not all attendees were ecstatic with the result. This game was the annual Fathers Game for the Hornets as the players’ dads made the trip north to enjoy dinner together at Lake Country Grill before cheering on their sons against the Terriers.
The Terriers kicked off their three-games-in-four days stretch Thursday in Schomberg.
It was an intense game that saw Orillia take advantage of power-play chances as Dooley, Matt Priest and Jake Beard each tallied power-play goals to give Orillia a 3-2 edge. Kyle Heitzner assisted on all three goals.
The turning point came very late in the second period, when Schomberg tied the game with just one tick left on the clock. After jumping out to a 4-3 lead in the third, Fischer knotted the score to send the game to an extra period.
The Cougars scored early to earn the win and the extra point. Cam Plante played most of the game for the Terriers but had to come out of the net due to injury with just four minutes left in the contest. Cumbo surrendered the winning goal in overtime.
The Terriers, who won just four games all last season, now sit in second place in the North Carruthers Division thanks to their impressive 11-4-0-1 record. They are just one point back of first-place Stayner, the league's reigning champs.
The Terriers and Stayner will clash Thursday in Stayner; Orillia will travel to Caledon Sunday. Orillia is home next on Nov. 17 when they host Caledon in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Rotary Place.
TERRIER TALES:
Brianna Wilson, a Grade 8 student from Marchmont Public School, sang the national anthem Saturday night at Rotary Place. During that game, the team’s Booster Club was a bustling spot.
If not for bad luck, Kyle Heitzner would have no luck. The former Barrie Colt, just finding his groove on the top line after joining the team two weeks ago, suffered an ankle injury against Alliston and will miss some time. Captain Jake Beard and veteran forward Owen King also did not play Sunday in Hanover.
Miller continues to lead the league in goals; he has 14 goals in 15 games.
