Nov. 10th brought the Port Carling Thunder to Bracebridge. Only the second face-off between these clubs this season, Port Carling arrived ready to get down to business and South Muskoka threw out the welcome mat.
The first frame was an exciting period of hard-hitting but clean hockey. Both clubs fought hard for the puck while skating with intense speed. A gritty battle, the rubber blew up both ends of the ice and there were loads of shots had by both teams. It was an exciting first period, which ended scoreless.
The second period opened up two different doors. For the Calvacade Bears, it opened up several scoring opportunities and finally South Muskoka was rewarded when defensively Kylee Ruppert stole the puck and flew up the boards. She fed centreman Will Cairns who sent a searing shot deep net-side. Port Carling was not idly sitting by and responded promptly by securing a goal of their own as Zach Gonneau fed winger Matt McEachran. McEachran one-timed the goal making this a tied game. Unfortunately for the Thunder, the other door that opened was the penalty box door. Five of their thirteen penalties were had in this frame alone.
The third continued a tight game until the flood gates opened for South Muskoka. The Bears hunkered down and nailed their second goal of the game when Luca Barnes fed winger Jonathan Taylor. Drew Peacock notched the third goal of the game with defenseman Dan Cox assisting. Maddison Miller popped in the fourth goal all the while Port Carling in their frustration took eight more penalties playing this entire period short-handed.
Netminding duties went to Christopher Cousineau who was spectacular between the pipes. Cousineau’s radar was bang-on as he managed to keep his focus during some intense scrums in front of the net. Well done!
Nov.11th brought Parry Sound to Gravenhurst for their final meeting of the season. Always a gong-show and never any love loss between these two centers, this game was no exception. Ten penalties showcased the Shamrock’s physical dominance and intimidation tactics. While South Muskoka was ultimately out-skated, the Bears played a strong, solid and well-delivered game against a much stronger and very talented Parry Sound team.
While South Muskoka has been riddled with injuries and suspensions, the Bears have done very well to hold their own under difficult circumstances.
Final score was a 5-0 loss.