March 2, 2018 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
The Alliston Hornets are leading the Caledon Golden Hawks 2-1 in their semi-final PJHL series.
It’s been a wild start to this match-up as the two squads battle it out for the right to advance to the final.
The Hornets came to the series after dispatching the Schomberg Cougars in four games in the quarter-final round.
Caledon knocked out the Huntsville Otters in a series that took seven games to complete in their first round series.
The semi-final started with three games in as many days getting underway on Friday, February 23, at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre in Alliston.
The Hornets took a huge lead in the second period of game one scoring three unanswered goals to lead 6-1 going into the final 20 minutes.
They capped it off with two more goals in the third period to win 8-1 to start the series.
“We can’t let that (the score) get to our heads. It was a good game but we’ve got to come in every game and play hard. We can’t expect that to happen every game,” said Hornets forward Ben Beausaert. “I felt like we weren’t fully prepared in the first period. We came back and re-grouped and really gave it to them in the second and third and that’s what really turned the game around.”
Game two got underway in Caledon home ice the following night, Saturday, February 24.
This time the teams played to a 4-4 tie forcing an overtime period to settle things.
After a regulation OT period with no score the squads returned for a second overtime period with the Hornets scoring to win the game 5-4 and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Game three was again on Caledon home ice on Sunday (Feb. 25) night.
After taking a 4-1 lead in the first period the Golden Hawks kept up the pressure and won the game 8-2 to make it a 2-1 series.
Game four was scheduled for Wednesday (Feb. 28) night in Alliston with results not available at press time.
Game five is slated for Friday, March 1, at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre with a 7:30 p.m. start.
In the other PJHL semi-final series, the Stayner Siskins are leading the Penetang Kings 2-1.
The winners of both series will meet in the Carruthers Division championship.