Almost three quarters of the way through the GBMJCHL season, the second-place Huntsville Otters have a big weekend ahead as they look to shake off a string of tough losses and defend their positioning in the upcoming Georgian Bay Jr. C playoffs.
Last year’s champion the Alliston Hornets have all but locked up first place with a 24-2-1 record and 18-point lead in the standings, leaving a close race between Huntsville (31 points), Midland (29 points), Caledon (29 points) and Stayner (28 points) for home ice advantage in the playoffs.
“Our team goal was to finish in the top 2 this year and I think we can do that, however the spread between first and second is not what we expected,” says Otters General Manager Craig Shaw. “The Hornets have come out strong and been almost unbeatable all year. Hopefully we can close that gap as the season winds down.”
Making matters more urgent is the fact that the Otters have lost three in a row for the first time this season, struggling to find the back of the net and being outscored 20-6 overall during the streak. The losses have come on the heels of starting goaltender Connor Christansen’s four-game suspension after receiving a fighting major alongside Caledon netminder Sam Procopio in late November.
After beating the Penetang Kings in the following game 5-1, the Otters went on to drop a 7-1 decision to the Hornets on December 6th, followed by back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Stayner Siskins and Erin Shamrocks last weekend.
“We need to find some consistency in our game,” said Shaw. “It seems like some nights we aren’t ready to play and that is costing us games we should be winning. Hopefully this week we can turn that around.”
The Otters will have a chance for redemption and to get things going in the right direction with three games coming up this weekend beginning with a road match tonight against the Siskins. Christansen will be back in goal for the Otters, who will then return home to the Canada Summit Centre to face the Kings at 8:00 pm on Friday night, followed by a rematch with the Hornets at 2:30 pm on Sunday.
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Bill Beatty says
Great effort Friday vs Penatang.My Grandson really enjoyed it.