Bruins edge towards fourth place in Orr Division
Roger Varley
Two wins on the weekend saw the Uxbridge Bruins edge a little closer to fourth spot in the seven-team Orr Division of the PJHL, just three points behind the Port Perry LumberJacks
The first win came on Friday night when the Bruins hosted the Caledon Golden Hawks at the arena in a game that saw six of the 10 total goals scored on the power play.
The Bruins scored the only goal of the first period when Darin Bain converted a pass from Ryan Shier. Nolan Winter was also credited with an assist.
Five minutes into the second period, Winter scored on the power play, assisted by Jack Kemp and Tanner Ryan. The Bruins notched another goal with the man advantage when Evan Gilbert hit the net near the midway point, assisted by Winter. Then, while the Bruins had two men in the penalty box, Gilbert and Nolan combined again for a short-handed marker. Caledon scored its first goal a few seconds later, a power play marker.
Uxbridge made it 5-1 early in the third, again on the power play, with Bain collecting his second goal of the night, assisted by Ryan. Caledon then attempted a comeback, scoring three unanswered goals in the space of four minutes, but Ryan, assisted by Tyler Laita, finished the scoring with an empty netter just before the final buzzer.
The Cosmos selected Winter as player of the game for the Bruins, while giving the nod to Caledon's Roenik Maha, although Caledon's goalie, Mason Milone, deserved recognition for a number of outstanding saves during the game.
On Saturday, the Bruins travelled to Little Britain, where they downed the Merchants 3-2. Uxbridge scored all their goals in the first period. Ryan Shier opened the scoring less than a minute into the game with an unassisted goal. That was followed by Luke Kemp's goal at the midway mark, also unassisted and then Shier scored again, with assists going to Bain and Winter. The Merchants hit the scoreboard with seconds left in the period and then scored one more in the second.
With a small three-game winning streak under their belts, the Bruins are now just three points behind Port Perry, with a game in hand, and only six points behind third-place Schomberg Cougars, again with a game in hand.
The Bruins are back in action tomorrow (Friday) night against the Georgina Ice, but the game will be played in Keswick, not the arena. Georgina is currently riding a 12-game winning streak. Then, on Sunday, the local ads hed to Caledon to take on the Golden Hawks again. Following th Caledon game, the Bruins face the daunting task of taking on the top four teams in the next seven games.