The Patriots certainly ruffled the feathers of the Walkerton Hawks at home in Mount Forest on Saturday afternoon, coming within a minute of forcing overtime against the first-place Western Jr. C team.
In a clean contest with only a smattering of penalties and 40 shots per side, the Patriots skated stride-for-stride and went goal-for-goal with their guests before being felled by a last-minute marker. Tevin Sallans led the way for Mount Forest with a hat-trick, and Tom Collins added a three-point effort in the disappointing 6-5 loss.
Walkerton opened with a powerplay goal late in the first period, but Troy Hill answered with 45 seconds to go to make it 1-1 heading to the intermission. Collins and captain Jon Aitken earned the assists.
Proving they can skate with any team in the league, the Pats opened a 2-1 lead in period two when Sallans made it count on a powerplay push. Collins and Aitken claimed their second assists of the night, only to see Walkerton tie it again with a surprise shorthanded goal.
The Hawks inched ahead 3-2, but Sallans countered at 15:52 of the period with another tying tally. A concentrated Patriot effort continued, and Collins was rewarded less than a minute later with the 4-3 go-ahead goal. Dean Nixon was credited with the assist, but Walkerton once more tied the score before the end of the period and set the stage for a tense third.
Sallans gave the home side the lift they were looking for early in the period, thanks to a setup from Dylan Hoffman, but the Hawks refused to fly off and tied the game 5-5 at the 7:29 mark. The visitors then buried the winner behind goaltender Brian Hainsworth at 18:31, making it a tough way for the Pats to usher in their new year.
It was a holiday feast for special teams play last Wednesday, as Mount Forest hosted the Mitchell Hawks and came up just short in a 4-3 final.
The Pats went an impressive 3-for-9 on the powerplay to account for their night’s offense, while Mitchell added not one but two shorthanded goals to eke out the one-goal victory.
Mitchell snared an early goal to open the scoring in period one, and doubled their lead minutes later with their first shorthanded tally of the game. Tony Lindner responded for the Patriots before the midway point of the period, finishing a set-up from Nathan Woodard.
Patriot Luke Richardson made it count with the man advantage in period two, tying the game 2-2 on a feed from Nixon and Sallans, but Mitchell answered with their second shorthanded effort of the night.
Finding the twine with his second powerplay marker of the match, Lindner tied the game yet again in the second frame. Zach Zubac and Dave Culliton earned the assists on the 3-3 goal, and play remained even as both sides battled into the third period in search of the win.
Mitchell finally claimed victory with the 4-3 winner late in the game.
Mount Forest returns to regular weekend action this Saturday night as they host the surging Hanover Barons at 8:30 p.m.