Irish hit a tough patch as the season heads for the final stretch

The Stratford Irish continued to produce mixed results as they tried to remain in contention for a spot in the Outlaw Tournament, while focusing on building chemistry for the playoffs.

On Dec. 20, the Irish travelled to Alvinston for their matchup with the division-leading Killer Bees. Alvinston opened the scoring over a minute into the game. Connor Hall from Luca Marandola and Ethan Salter responded for Stratford with 5:26 remaining in the period, but the Killer Bees responded with a goal of their own with 2:55 left in the opening frame and led 2-1 heading into the second period.

A shorthanded goal by Mateo Cabral from Connor Hall at 2:28 of the middle frame put the Irish back level, but the Killer Bees scored three unanswered in the latter half of the second period to take the lead 5-2 into the final period.

Early in the third, the Irish staged a comeback effort, courtesy of goals from Stephen Pierog and Ray Robbins within 53 seconds apart to climb back to within a goal. But the effort fell short as the Killer Bees prevailed 5-4.

Stratford returned home on Dec. 27 to face the Halton Hills Coyotes in an inter-conference matchup.

In another tightly contested game for the Irish, the team overcame an early 2-0 deficit to take the lead early in the third period. Brendan Charlton scored with 4:02 remaining in the second period, followed by captain Zach Magwood 3:28 into the third period to tie the game. Charlton’s second of the game early in the third put the Irish in front for the first time, but the Coyotes responded with a pair of their own to retake the lead midway through the final frame.

But the Irish staged a dramatic late-game comeback with two goals in 34 seconds from Salter and Travis Winkworth, giving the Irish a thrilling 5-4 win over the resilient Coyotes. Mario Cavaliere picked up the win against his former team with a 38-save performance.

Irish owner/head coach Marco Alexander commented on the thrilling comeback win and faced a familiar foe in Marek Pavlas, who previously played with the Irish earlier in the season.

“Yeah, they're a good team. Obviously, Pavlas played for us, and then gets traded there to help them. You can see why he played unbelievable tonight, and Cavaliere, from them, came to our side to play. I think both goalies played unbelievably to keep it such a tight game. Then in the third, you know, watch the resiliency from our team,” Alexander said.

Salter expressed the importance of his role on the tying goal late in the game.

“It's important to get that time goal. We worked hard as a team and got the right bounce, and I was able to put it in,” Salter said. “But it's really good to see the resilience of the team and to show that we have that push and drive when it matters.”

The Irish hoped to kick off the final stretch drive of the season with a win against the Tilbury Bluebirds on Jan. 3.

Stratford got off to a quick start in the first period with two goals from Salter and Christian Polillo, less than 90 seconds apart, to go up 2-0. Tilbury responded with a pair of their own to tie the game midway through the opening frame, but the Irish retook the lead with a goal from the newly acquired Matt Zebedee, only for the Bluebirds to take the lead for their first time heading into the second period with a 4-3 lead.

Tilbury padded their lead in the second period with three more to lead 7-3 by the midway mark of the period. Stratford responded with three unanswered goals from Thomas Maia, Salter, and a second goal of the game from Zebedee, cutting the deficit to one heading into the third period.

The Bluebirds added insurance 46 seconds into the final frame. Second of the game by Maia responded for the visitors at 4:20 into the period, but their effort was thwarted by late goals from the Bluebirds en route to a wild 10-7 loss.

Although qualified for the playoffs, with the latest results, Stratford falls to six points behind the Strathroy Jets for the final wildcard spot at the Outlaw Tournament, with a record of 8-7-1 through 16 games and in third position in the Metropolitan Conference’s Gateway Division.

Despite the injuries that have left the Irish playing shorthanded as of late, both Alexander and Salter say the team is confident it can develop its chemistry and prepare for the playoff run.

“Absolutely, I think the next couple of weeks, our guys are going to settle in. We still got some guys … (whose) bumps and bruises (are) still hurting,” Alexander said.

“In the next couple of weeks, we're going to start stepping up a level and gearing up for playoffs. Here, we got a lot left in the tank that we got to use,” Salter said.

The Irish are in a bye week this weekend, but several members of the team will participate in the Metropolitan All-Star game at Alvinston on Jan. 10. Matt Montgomery, Ethan Salter, Matt Fuller and Thomas Hernandez will represent Stratford.