Thanks to a pair of weekend wins, the Mount Forest Patriots have risen back into fifth place in the Western Jr. C ranks.
Back-to-back victories over the last-place Goderich Sailors helped the Pats leapfrog the Kincardine Bulldogs in the standings, giving them 24 points after 25 regular season games.
The Sailors blew into town on Saturday, and were defeated 5-2 by a Patriot team that continues to be dangerous with the man advantage. Mount Forest went 3-for-7 on the powerplay as they cruised to victory.
Tom Collins started it off with a lone first-period goal, assisted by top Pats playmaker Dean Nixon, who boasts a nifty 22 assists in 21 games played.
Tony Lindner doubled the lead in period two, scoring on the powerplay from Nixon and Zach Zubac, and kicking off a four-goal run for the home side. Dave Culliton made it 3-0 on a pass from Nathan Woodard, and moved into the top five in season scoring for the Patriots.
Nixon netted one with the man advantage, assisted by Collins and Tevin Sallans, and Woodard followed with a goal of his own. Lindner collected the assist on the powerplay goal, and the Pats carried a tidy 5-0 bulge into the third period.
Mount Forest native Tristan Rae broke the silence for Goderich in the third period, breaking goaltender Brian Hainsworth’s shutout bid along with it. The visitors managed one more late goal to cut the damage to 5-2, but the Mount Forest victory was never really in question.
Sunday’s return game in Goderich was moderately closer, but the Pats still prevailed with a 4-2 victory. The game was a clean one, with both sides combining for less than 20 minutes in total penalty minutes. The Sailors did make use of their penalties, however, as Josh Martel accounted for all the Goderich scoring on a pair of shorthanded goals.
Sallans netted Mount Forest’s first, helped out by Brad Larkin and Dylan Hoffman, and Collins gave the locals a 2-1 lead in period two when he finished a play from Nixon and Troy Hill. Collins is now ninth in league scoring, totalling 32 points in only 24 games.
Andrew Holliday and Lucas Johnson combined to find Luke Richardson for the third Mount Forest goal in the final frame, and Hill roudned out the scoring with a marker from Nixon and Wade Mackey.
Mount Forest now faces a pair of midweek games over the holidays, as they travel to Mitchell this week and then host the Hawks in a rubber match on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. back in Mount Forest.