The Huntsville Otters (3-1-1) continued their torrid start to the season with an 4-3 win over the Caledon Golden Hawks (0-6-0) at the Summit Centre yesterday, giving them three out of a possible four points during their two-game homestand this past weekend, and points in four of their first five games of the year.
Jay Dix scored the game-winning goal with just under two minutes remaining in the third period, going bar-down with a nifty backhand deke that fooled Golden Hawks netminder Sam Procopio. Connor Christansen made 34 saves, including several in the final minute with the Otters down a man, to record his third win of the year.
The teams traded leads in the first period, with Sam King scoring first for Huntsville before quick goals 21 seconds apart from the Golden Hawks put the visitors up 2-1. Andy Baker would respond for the Otters with his team-leading 5th goal of the season to tie the score 2-2 heading into the intermission.
The second period featured aggressive neutral zone play, as both teams focused on limiting their opponent’s chances through a scoreless 20 minutes. That all went out the window in the third, as Baker came flying out of the gate to undress a Caledon defender and beat Procopio one-on-one, giving the Otters a 3-2 lead just 36 seconds in. The Golden Hawks answered back several minutes later, leading to more cautious back and forth play until Dix sealed the win for the home team in the final minutes.
With two goals on the night, Baker now leads his team with six goals and 10 points on the year, both good for second overall in the GBMOJCHL, while Jake McIntyre, who also scored, is second on the team with four goals and seven points. Both of Dix’s goals this year have been game-winners.
Huntsville was 0/6 on the man advantage, ending a streak of powerplay goals in three straight games. Their defensive special teams were a solid 1/7 on the penalty kill, which included an extended 5-on-3 advantage for Caledon in the second period.
The Otters’s next game will come in Penetang against the Kings (4-2-0) this Friday at 8:00 pm, before returning home to face the Erin Shamrocks (3-3-1) on Sunday at 2:30 pm.
The game story from Friday’s tie against the Orillia Terriers is included below.
FRIDAY
Huntsville Otters – 3
Orillia Terriers – 3
Andy Baker scored his 4th goal of the season with less than 90 seconds remaining in regulation as the Huntsville Junior C Otters (2-1-1) came back from a 2-0 deficit to play to a 3-3 tie against the Orillia Terriers (0-6-1) at the Canada Summit Centre.
Despite heavily outshooting their opponent by a 50-22 margin, the Otters had difficultly solving Terriers’ netminder Gordie Weiss, who made 47 saves in giving his team their first point in the standings this season. The Otterspower play went 1/9 and is now operating at 14.8% on the season, while their penalty kill was sharp on five of seven opportunities but fell to 83.9%.
The Terriers scored a PP goal in the first period and added to their lead with an even-strength marker halfway through the second, lighting a fire under the Otters bench in the process. Just one minute later, the home team had tied the game with goals from Cam Russell and captain Jake McIntyre coming 36 seconds apart to knot the score 2-2. The Terriers would get one back before the end of the second, setting the stage for a dramatic third frame that saw multiple Otters scoring chances thwarted before Baker finally put one home to send the game into overtime.
Huntsville goalie Connor Christanson made 19 saves in his fourth consecutive start, and was perfect in the extra period to secure a point for the Otters in the standings with the tie. Baker, Jay Dix, Myles York, and Dalton Mceachran all recorded assists.
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