Ontario Hockey Association

Mount Forest’s Patriots ended their regular season at home on a high note, and with some high drama as well, as they defeated Goderich in a shootout.  The Patriots spotted their guests a 2-0 lead in period one, but slammed the door shut with a pair of goals in a span of only 51 seconds.

Captain Shayne Ross cut the damage to 2-1 with his first goal of the night, assisted by Bobby Nicol and Doug McNair, and Josh Higginson tied it up on a play from Jeff Colton and Joel Reeves.  Reeves opened period two with a goal of his own at 1:45, helped out by his linemates Higginson and Colton, but two more Goderich goals at 3:17 and 6:35 set the home side back 4-3.

Kyle MacKenzie lifted the locals back into the game at 6:48 of the third, finishing a feed from Marlon Campbell and Josh Mitton, with a howitzer to the top corner.  Higginson brought the crowd to its feet at 8:04, jamming in the go-ahead goal on the doorstep of the net. Colton and Reeves earned the assists.

Mount Forest fought hard to keep the advantage, but Goderich fired home the equalizer with just under six minutes to play in regulation time. The subsequent overtime settled nothing, and the two sides squared off for a shootout to settle the score.

Patriot netminder Chris Fyvie allowed only a single goal in five Sailor attempts, while Higginson kept pace at the other end with a nifty deke and a goal. Ross then cemented the win with a shootout tally, and Mount Forest closed out their home ice games with a 6-5 win. Goderich got the last laugh of the weekend, however, as they welcomed the Pats on Saturday night, and ran up a 6-2 victory to close out regular season action.

Mount Forest led 1-0 after one period, with Mitton scoring the opener from Bennett and MacKenzie, but Goderich battled their way into a comfortable lead with three straight second period tallies, including one on the power-play, to make it 3-1. The Sailors sunk two more in the third, before Reeves dented the twine on a set up from Colton and Mitton. Leading 5-2, Ben Sloetjes of Goderich finished his night with a hat-trick, and scored a sixth Sailor goal to close out the game.

The annual Western Jr. C awards banquet was slated for Sunday afternoon, but was cancelled due to weather. It was later announced that Patriot bench boss Gerry Hillier was named Coach of the Year, for the second straight year. Stepping in as Patriot general manager earlier this season, Hillier made a number of roster changes that helped Mount Forest compete in the league.

His three year plan to strengthen the team for a debut in the new arena, coupled with his coaching vision, helped the Pats ice a vastly improved team over the final push of the regular season. Coach Hillier’s team will be duly tested this weekend, as the Patriots open the postseason against their longtime rival Hanover Barons. Mount Forest hosts game two of the first-round series this Saturday night.