/Huskies claw back to win final two games and take the series over Trenton
First round success The Huskies celebrate after winning the deciding Game Three of the first round series against the Trenton Golden Hawks with a score of 2 – 1 in Trenton on April 14. Next, the Huskies face the Cobourg Cougars – the winner of that series will claim the East Division and play winner of the North Division series./ Photo by Amy Deroche/OJHL Images

Huskies claw back to win final two games and take the series over Trenton

By Alex Gallacher

After being downed by the Golden Hawks in Game One of the series 5-2, the Haliburton County Huskies stormed back to take the remaining two games in dramatic fashion, taking their first series win, as well as locking up a home ice advantage against their second-round opponent the Cobourg Cougars.

On Wednesday [April 13], a packed house of over 500 fans played witness to an absolute classic at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena. The dogs fell to a 2-0 deficit after the first, coming from a Dalton Bancroft deflection and Justin Mauro breakaway. However, not wanting to let the home crowd down, the Huskies got to work in the second.

Haliburton County Huskies forward Patrick Saini looks for the airborne puck, as he is flanked by Trenton defenders Aaron Jameison, on left, and Stefan Dobrich, on right, during OJHL playoff action on April 13 at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena in Minden. After falling behind 2-0 early in the game, the Huskies completed the comeback to win 3-2 and tie the series, 1 – 1, which enabled the opportunity to play the third and deciding game. /DARREN LUM Staff

Simon Rose kicked things off at 3:08 in the second period, scoring on a brilliant shot in front of the net. Scoring the team’s first powerplay goal of the season, the lead was cut in half. Just before the period ended absolute calamity occurred in front of Hawks netminder William Nguyen.

A scramble in front led to Lucas Stevenson knocking the puck in off of a Golden Hawk glove.

With less than 30 seconds left in the period, the Huskies faithful sprang to life. The building erupted in cheers, while the visiting Trenton fans were left stunned at the other end.

Trenton had penalty trouble the whole game. After the second, they combined for a total of five penalties and one misconduct. However, the stellar Trenton PK unit kept the team at only one PP goal allowed.

The third kicked off with aggressive play and overall high intensity, but Stevenson would again find the back of the net for the most important goal of the game. Another scramble in front of Nguyen, caused the goalie to lose sight of the puck. Before Nguyen could react, the puck found its way in, and therefore gave the Huskies a 3-2 lead and all the momentum on their side.

The Hawks pulled the goalie and mounted an all-out assault, but goalie Christian Cicigoi stood tall and stopped everything. Not letting the two early goals phase him, the goalie from Thunder Bay stood on his head to help the Huskies stay alive and force a deciding Game Three in Trenton on Thursday [April 14].

After falling behind 2-0 early in the game, the Huskies completed the comeback to win 3-2 and tie the series, 1 – 1, which enabled the opportunity to play the third and deciding game. /DARREN LUM Staff

Heading into Thursday, the tensions were high and more than 100 Huskies fans made the journey down the highway to the Duncan McDonald Memorial Gardens. With both teams’ seasons on the line and in enemy territory, the Huskies got to work quickly.

Christian Stevens lit the lamp only five minutes in, burying a Patrick Saini rebound to put the dogs up by one after the first. The Hawks and Huskies battled like true rivals in the second period, with ample chances going both ways. Both Cicigoi and Nguyen stood tall – with all the marbles on line the Hawks needed a big third period to keep their Buckland Cup dreams alive.

Seven minutes in and Noah Van Vliet made the shot heard around the county. Taking a screen from Saini, Van Vliet scored top shelf of Nguyen putting the Huskies up 2-0. A few minutes later the Hawks finally got one of their own, Tanner McEachern added a powerplay marker on the screen of Cicigoi and with 10 minutes the Hawks tossed everything they had at the Huskies.

Shot after shot, play after play, Cicigoi kept it all out. With the sound of the final buzzer the Huskies took the win and the series 2-1. The Huskies crowd was elated, but the Trenton fans were left stunned once again.

The Huskies will face the Cobourg Cougars on Sunday April 17 at 2 p.m. at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena. The Huskies will have home ice advantage and won the season series over the Cougars in the regular season. The winner of the series will claim the East Division and play winner of the North Division series.

All smiles on the ice: Patrick Saini, Payton Schaly, Cam Kosurko, Lucas Stevenson, Oliver Tarr and Christian Cicigoi at Thursday night’s game in which the Haliburton County Huskies defeated the Trenton Golden Hawks in Game Three of Round One. /Photo by Amy Deroche/OJHL Images