Irish unleashes offensive downpour in win over the Lakers

Stratford Irish F Matthew Montgomery scores his second of the game in the third period against the Woodstock Lakers on Jan. 31, 2026.

The Stratford Irish concluded their final homestand of the regular season with a dominant 12-1 win over the Woodstock Lakers at the William Allman Memorial Arena on Jan. 31.

Brett Thorne got things started for the Irish on the powerplay from Nick Giunta and Zach Magwood at 5:47 of the first period. Mathieu Henderson from Giunta and Matt Zebedee, with 2:59 left in the opening frame, followed by Christian Polillo from Stephen Pierog and Ethan Salter, 39 seconds later, gave the Irish a commanding 3-0 lead. Pierog from Polillo and Salter, with 96 seconds remaining, put the home side ahead 4-0 after 20 minutes of play.

Woodstock got on the board on the powerplay midway through the period, but that proved to be the only blemish for Stratford as their offence went into overdrive afterwards. Henderson scored back-to-back goals for the Irish to put them ahead 6-1. 43 seconds after Henderson’s hat-trick goal, Brady Hunter joined the scoring barrage from Pierog and Connor Hall to cap off a strong finish to the middle frame.

Stratford continued to pour on the goals in the third period.

Pollio scored his second of the game from Salter and Magwood 3:54 into the period. During the four-minute powerplay, Matthew Montgomery contributed with a goal from Hall at 6:19, followed by Pierog from Hunter and Thorne 33 seconds later. Team Captain Zach Magwood added one of his own midway through the final frame from Salter and Polillo, and Zebedee scored one as well from Hall and Matthew Fuller, with under six minutes left to cap off the win.

Polillo, Pierog and Henderson say the team is satisfied with its performance as it heads into the final regular-season game against the potential first-round playoff opponent, the Alvinston Killer Bees, next week on Feb. 7.

“Yeah, 100 per cent. I mean, sometimes it just takes a little time for the guys to gel in the room. And I feel like we're sort of starting to build a brotherhood. So, it's good. It shows on the ice,” Polillo said.

“It's just, it's the last game before the playoffs. So, it's going to be a good test for us, and it's going to be a good look at what playoff hockey is going to be like. So, I'm sure they're going to be playing their hardest as well. They'll have their full lineup as well.”

“It's been a rough, rough road for us, but we came together here today. It's nice to see everybody get up and get some points. The guys are working hard to get ice time and paid off today,” Pierog said.

“For us, it's definitely just the confidence we have in such good, high-level hockey players here. Today was great because we definitely found our confidence going in and having fun. But we also like the challenge. We like to work hard. I think today was well-rewarded, but we know what's coming up next. It's going to be a lot different,” Henderson said.

“It's nice for guys to get confidence going into the playoffs. You know, that's our mindset that's going to go a whole year, wait till we get into the playoffs and then try to repeat from last year.”

Pierog, Salter and Polillo led the Irish with five points each; 12 different Irish players scored at least one point, with seven scoring three or more points.

With the win, the Irish assured themselves a third-place finish in the Metropolitan League’s Gateway Division.