Exeter Hawks fall in second round of playoffs

The Exeter Hawks have been eliminated in the second round of the PJHL West Yeck division playoffs by the Mount Brydges Bulldogs. Pictured are Ty Wheeler of the Exeter Hawks and Ben Funston of the Mount Brydges Bulldogs during their March 14 game in Exeter.

By Dan Rolph

The Exeter Hawks’ playoff run came to an end in round two as they were eliminated by the Mount Brydges Bulldogs, closing the book on their season.

The Hawks skated into round two of the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s West Yeck division playoffs on a high note after sweeping the Lucan Irish in a best-of-seven series. But the Bulldogs proved to be a more challenging matchup, with half of the round’s games being decided in overtime.

Exeter started the series strong in a neck-and-neck March 6 game at the South Huron Recreation Centre. The teams went scoreless through the first period, but that scoreless streak ended thanks to Exeter’s Tanner Thayer, who scored at 12:23 of the second frame on the power play, assisted by Justin Skirten and Harrison Meulensteen.

Thayer’s goal remained the sole goal of the evening until Mount Brydges tied the match about halfway through the third period, pushing the game into two periods of overtime before Meulensteen ended the game with a 2-1 win for Exeter. By the end of the game, the teams were completely even with 36 shots apiece.

The series continued March 7 in Mount Brydges, where the Bulldogs and the Hawks racked up a goal each in the first frame. However, a two-goal second period for the Bulldogs built a lead that the Hawks couldn’t overcome, even with their final third-period goal from Danny Scott.

With Mount Brydges scoring one final goal, the match went to the Bulldogs 4-2.

Though their third matchup on March 10 in Exeter saw the teams once again nearly tied in shots on goal, the scoreboard leaned much further in favour of the Bulldogs by the final buzzer. The teams scored a goal each in the first period, but the rest of the night went to Mount Brydges, who found four more goals and wrapped the game up 5-1.

The Hawks came back with a vengeance for game four of the series on March 13 in Mount Brydges, securing the only shutout of the matchup off of goals by Carter Bowerman, Jack Taylor and Meulensteen, leaving Exeter with a dominant 3-0 victory.

From there, the remainder of the round two was decided by two nights of intense hockey action, each of which wrapped up in an extra frame of sudden death overtime.

The fifth game brought the teams back to Exeter on March 14, where the Hawks delivered a flurry of shots that left them 24 shots ahead of the Bulldogs by the game’s end. The teams traded blows throughout all three periods, pushing to the third buzzer with a tied scoreboard.

Despite the strong Hawks offence, Bulldogs goalie Parker Barnard held on until Tim Jozsa of Mount Brydges ended the extra period at 18:22, making the match a 6-5 win for the Bulldogs.

The sixth and final meeting of the Hawks and the Bulldogs on March 16 proved to be an exhilarating game fit to cap off the best-of-seven series.

Mount Brydges started by building a two-goal lead in the first period, but Meulensteen put Exeter on the board in the final seconds of the frame.

From there, the Hawks found their stride and overcame that deficit, securing four more goals and building a sizable three-goal lead about six minutes into the third period.

When the Bulldogs erased the deficit with three quick goals in the span of about a minute, the teams were forced to decide the outcome in overtime. Dominic DiFrancesco scored the winner for Mount Brydges, eliminating the Hawks and bringing their season to an end.

Following their victory against the Exeter Hawks, the Mount Brydges Bulldogs are set to face the North Middlesex Stars in the West Yeck division finals.