Bruins turn up heat as Winter returns

Roger Varley

It was a hot night for the Uxbridge Bruins last Friday as they lambasted the Little Britain Merchants 6-1 at the arena and it appeared the return of Winter had something to do with it.

Nolan Winter, who earned three of the eight awards handed out at the Bruins' banquet in May of this year, was back in the lineup after a brief stint with the Aurora Tigers, and his presence appeared to spark the rest of the team.

The Bruins controlled the game from the opening whistle and Winter was credited with an assist on the first goal, scored by Jack Kemp in the first period while the Merchants' Charlie Coristine was serving a double minor for spearing. The other assist went to Tanner Ryan.

Lucas Marshall, assisted by Jake Rigillo, and Luke Kemp, assisted by Tyler Laita, made it 3-0 in the second and Matthew Morse tipped in a shot from the blue line by Mateo Guerrieri to put the score at 4-0 as the period ended.

The Merchants' Nathan Twohey spoiled Eamon Callaghan's attempt at a shut-out seconds into the third period, but the Bruins re-established the four-goal lead at the midway point with an unassisted goal by Evan Gilbert. The Merchants replaced their starting goalie but Marshall scored his second of the night a couple of minutes later, assisted by Morse and Hayden Anderson. The game was delayed for a period of time late in the third when a large hole was left in the boards after a body check.

The Cosmos selected Winter as player of the game for the Bruins and gave the nod to Twohey of the Merchants.

The Bruins, who now have won two of their first eight regular season games, return to action tomorrow (Friday) night at 7:45 p.m., when they host the Caledon Golden Hawks for the first time. The Golden Hawks have won only one game in their first nine starts