Saving their greatest offensive outburst for the final home game of their season, the Mount Forest Patriots humbled the Goderich Sailors with an 8-4 shellacking on Friday night.
A heated, at times bitter, rivalry had developed between the two Western Jr. C teams over the 2009/10 season. Mount Forest effectively laid it all to rest with their impressive eight-goal effort, but not before swallowing 55 penalty minutes on 23 infractions.
Goderich was assessed 43 minutes on 22 infractions, in a game with three fights and four roughing penalties for each side. The Patriots fired 53 shots at the Goderich net, while Brendan Zwambag stopped 35 at the other end of the ice.
To little surprise, the penalty-riddled affair opened with three powerplay goals, and ended with a total of five, plus one shorthanded tally. Dustin Campbell was the game’s top gun, finishing his night with a hat-trick. Aron Hosszu netted two and notched an assist, Thomas Kingston scored twice, Matt Reid scored once and added two assists, and Curtis Loder picked up three assists in the rout.
Goderich started all the scoring noise at 6:01 of the first period, and led for little over a minute until Reid finished a play from Kenny Collingridge and Robbie Moe. Hosszu scored one from Justin Anslie and Loder, and Campbell stretched the lead to 3-1 with another set up by Collingridge and Moe. Goderich cut the lead to 3-2 inside the final minute of the period, but ten seconds later Hosszu scored his second of the period, thanks to help from Reid and Loder.
Goderich struck gold one last time on the powerplay to open period two, but Campbell answered with a pair of goals to give the home side a comfortable 6-3 advantage. Loder and Hosszu assisted on Dustin’s second marker, and Anslie and Chris Zubac provided the set-up for his hat-trick tally.
The Sailors managed a 6-4 goal at 7:01 of period two, but it was their final red light of the night. Kingston buired his first goal, shorthanded, from Reid and Wade Mackey, and then wrapped up the scoring with the only goal of the third period. Zubac and David Boswell were there for the assists.
Still buzzing after tossing the Sailors to the murky depths of the Western loop, the Patriots put in another inspired effort on Saturday night against the Kincardine Bulldogs.
The game was noticeably clean compared to the ugly tussle one night prior, and all the scoring came in the second period as Mount Forest was handed a narrow 3-2 defeat.
Ben Davis set up the first Kincardine goal three minutes into the period, and the Bulldogs led 2-0 when Campbell finally answered for the Pats at the ten minute mark. Collingridge and Josh Steffler earned the assists.
Collingridge brought the locals to 2-2 at 13:55, but Davis drained the winner for the home side at 17:00. Moe and Steffler, with his second of the game, picked up the assists on the Collingridge goal, and the Patriots were unable to once more tie the game throughout a scoreless third period.
Finishing the season in first place, the Walkerton Hawks receive a first round bye into the playoffs. Second place Hanover Barons tackle the last place Goderich Sailors, while the fourth place Kincardine Bulldogs tangle with the fifth place Wingham Ironmen.
Third place Mitchell Hawks meet the sixth place Patriots, with game one played last night in Mitchell. Game two of the best-of-five series goes this Friday night in Mount Forest, at 8:30 p.m. Game three returns to Mitchell on Saturday night.
At the league awards banquet on Sunday in Kincardine, the Hanover Barons accepted awards for top goaltending, top scorer Jim Hutchinson and top rookie Austin Rigney. Walkerton produced top defenceman and league MVP Trevor Smith, Mitchell’s Ryan Magagnin was most sportsmanlike, and Kincardine’s Brian Royle was top coach and Dave Hawn was voted volunteer of the year.
The Western Jr. C 1st All Star Team is: goalie Gatlin Burt of Kincardine; defence Trevor Smith of Walkerton and Kevin Baetz of Mitchell; and forwards Tyler Van Drunen of Mitchell, Tyler Alan of Walkerton and Jim Hutchinson of Hanover.
The 2nd All Star Team is: goalie Clayton Fritsch of Walkerton; defence Brent Fritz of Mitchell and Austin Rigney of Hanover; and forward: Justin Wakewich of Walkerton, Rob Hellyer of Hanover and Ryan Magagnin of Mitchell.