Sports

Junior C hockey starts semi-final round this week

March 14, 2024   ·   0 Comments

Brian Lockhart

Small-town Junior hockey is now moving into the semi-final round of playoffs after a quarter-final round that produced no surprises.

In fact, none of the lower-seed teams in the North Carruthers Division of the Provincial Junior Hockey League managed to win a game in the first round.

Orillia, Schomberg, Alliston, and Stayner will all advance to the semi-final round.

These four teams have been solid all season, with all of them taking first place at one time throughout the year.

The Alliston Hornets managed to take over first place fairly early and stayed in the number one spot for the rest of the season.

The quarter-final round of playoffs saw a four-game sweep in every series.

The Orillia Terriers knocked out the Huntsville Otters in four games wrapping it up with a 1-0 overtime win in game four on March 8.

The Schomberg Cougars dispatched the Penetang Kings in a series that went four games and delivered a 10-0 slam-dunk to Penetang in the final game to end their season.

In their series, the Alliston Hornets easily handled the Innisfil Spartans, including a 12-2 win in game two of the series and an 11-3 win in game three. That series wrapped up in four games on March 7.

The Stayner Sikins will advance after winning their series with the Caledon Golden Hawks in four games with the final game taking place on March 6.

Going into the semi-final round, fans will now see some serious competition as the four teams battle it out to see who will go to the Division championship.

The Alliston Hornets will face the Schomberg Cougars in their semi-final. This will be an historic series as it will be the last time these two teams meet, after years of having a good rivalry.

After playing in the Division for over 50 years, starting in 1973, the Cougars will be moving to an East Division for next season after a shuffle by the League executive to create more balanced divisions.

In the other semi-final, the Stayner Siskins will be up against the Orillia Terriers.

This will also be a competitive and fun series to watch.

The Carruthers Division semi-finals got underway on Wednesday, March 13, in Alliston.

Stayner and Orillia will begin their series on Thursday, March 14 at Stayner Memorial Arena.

The semi-final is a best-of-seven series.

If all seven games are needed, both series will finish on March 24.

The two remaining teams will go to the Carruthers Division championship, with the winner playing for the Conference title in April.

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