Braves PJHL season comes to an end with loss to Whalers

Members of the Tavistock Braves and Fergus Whalers shake hands after the Whalers clinched the PJHL title with a home-ice, 4-3 overtime victory Sunday night. Photo courtesy of Fergus Whalers

By Lee Griffi

For the first time in franchise history, the Tavistock Braves advanced to the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) championship series but came out on the losing side.

The Braves lost 4-3 in overtime on Mother’s Day as the Fergus Whalers took the series in five games to earn their first-ever Schmaltz Cup title.

Tavistock led 2-1 early in the second period thanks to goals by captain Marc Dionne and Stratford’s Nolan Miller. Fergus found the back of the net twice before the second period was over to take a 3-2 lead going into the third. Yann Raskin scored the only goal of the final frame at the 3:44 mark to force overtime, but Ryan Forwell found the back of the net from the slot at nine minutes in to give the Whalers their first-ever Schmaltz Cup.

The Braves dropped Game 4 in Fergus on Friday by a score of 6-5 despite holding a 5-3 lead until the 15-minute mark of the second period when the Whalers cut the lead to one and then scored the only two goals of the third. Yann Raskin scored twice for Tavistock with singles from Keegan Metcalf, Miller and Jacob Reid-Brant.

The Whalers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 3 last Wednesday before Ryan McKellar put the Braves on the board 42 seconds into the second frame. Fergus restored its three-goal lead, but Metcalf, Evan Palubeski and Jack Hodge scored to tie the game at four by the 1:33 mark of the third. Two of the three Whalers' goals came with the man advantage.

Joey Martin, who had a monster game with three goals and a pair of helpers, scored the game-winner for the Whalers four minutes later. Jacob Lesser followed with an insurance marker and Martin sealed the win with an empty net goal.

Keaton Bartlett, Palubeski, Metcalf and McKellar had two-point performances in a losing effort. Tavistock had been able to control Martin in the first two games as the former Elmira Sugar King star scored just twice.

Ethan Stover led Tavistock in playoff scoring with 39 points, followed by Yann Raskin’s 37 and Metcalf’s 33.

Braves general manager Brent Lange said there are many people to thank for the team’s success this season.

“Right from the top down; president Steve Hohl, the rest of the executive members, coaches, staff and our volunteers. It’s been one hell of a ride and I can’t say enough good things about everybody involved. I am so proud of the players, the community and our sponsors.”

He added the scene in the locker room was tough, particularly for the four players who won’t be returning next season, as Dionne, Carter Arsenault, Tyler Bryzenskie and McKellar have all aged out.

“There were a lot of tears. Four very important guys on our team played their last game. It was very emotional, but also for good reasons. It’s tough. We took a team like that to three overtime games and we were right there with them the entire series.”

Lange said his focus is now on the 2026-2027 version of the Tavistock Braves, though he isn’t expecting many roster spots to be available.

“We have about 50 kids coming out to our camp on June 6 and 7, but we are probably only going to have five or six holes to fill. We have our entire defence core and both our goalies eligible to come back, along with our top line. It’s looking pretty impressive for next year.”

Lesser earned playoff MVP honours after tallying 19 goals and 33 points in the postseason, highlighted by a two-goal, one-assist performance in the deciding game for the Fergus Whalers.

“This feels unbelievable. I’m so happy for the guys,” said Whalers head coach Ryan Black. “They worked hard all year for this moment, and it was a total commitment from everybody. It was a long road to get here, and I give Tavistock a lot of credit. They’re a great team.”

Black said the first two seasons were a learning curve, which helped the team win the league championship.

“The veterans we brought in this year set the standard pretty high and we had a great culture in the room.”

The Whalers have only been in existence for three seasons, with the last Junior C team from that city folding back in 2015. In 2022, Jason Baier, a Stratford businessman and resident, secured a new franchise for Fergus and is the team’s president and director of hockey operations.

One of the biggest moments in team history came in 1979-1980 when a 16-year-old defenseman named Steve Smith played for the Fergus Green Machine. Smith went on to win three Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.