The McLean & Dickey Orillia Terriers earned a pair of weekend wins to move into second place in the North Carruthers Division of the Provincial Junior Hockey League.
On Friday night, the visiting Terriers blew a 3-1 third-period lead at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre.
Orillia’s leading scorer, Josh Brown, scored a pair of first-period goals to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after the first frame. After Alliston scored to cut the lead in half, Terriers captain Broderick Black tallied his 12th of the season to restore the two-goal advantage.
In the third, the Hornets rallied to tie the contest. But just 32 seconds after Alliston scored what appeared to be a deflating short-handed goal, recently-acquired forward Dylan Palomaki responded with a power-play marker that allowed the Terriers to retake the lead. Sam Pink scored with less than 90 seconds remaining to secure the hard-fought 5-3 victory over the home side.
Goaltender Reed Spinola, who stopped 39 of 42 shots, was named the game’s first star.
On Saturday, the Terriers returned to home ice and skated to a dominant 4-1 win over cellar-dwelling Huntsville.
Mason Beck scored the lone goal of the first period before Noah Mountain and Josh Brown added second-period markers to give the Terriers a 3-0 advantage heading into the final stanza.
In the third, Mountain scored his second of the game, but William Major replied, spoiling the shutout attempt by Terriers netminder Wade Monague, who stopped 28 shots in a game that saw Orillia outshoot Huntsville 49-29.
With the wins, the Terriers improved their record to 17-5-1 and moves them into second place, just five points behind the Stayner Siskins.
Orillia travels to Schomberg Thursday night and will return to Rotary Place in Orillia Saturday night when they will host Penetang in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
TERRIER TALES: Josh Brown leads the team with 24 goals and also tops the team in points with 35 in 23 games. Defenceman Isaiah Philip is second in team scoring with 32 points from the blueline. Dylan Palomaki, acquired at the trade deadline, had a strong weekend, scoring a goal and adding two assists. There were 217 fans at Rotary Place for Saturday night’s contest.
