Lucan Irish lose home opener against Petrolia, drop two following games

The Lucan Irish Six are back for another season of hockey in the PJHL’s West Yeck division. The Irish hosted the Petrolia Flyers at the Lucan Biddulph Community Memorial Centre on Sept. 12 for Lucan’s first home game of the season. Pictured are Cameron Davidson of the Petrolia Flyers and Lucan Irish forward Kevin Waters during the Sept. 12 home opener in Lucan.

By Dan Rolph

The Lucan Irish Six stepped onto the ice Sept. 12 at the Lucan Biddulph Community Memorial Centre for their first regular season home game since the team’s relaunch, going head-to-head with the Petrolia Flyers.

The teams traded shots throughout the match, but it was Petrolia who climbed their way onto the scoreboard first with a goal at 7:38 in the first period.

The Flyers held the one-goal advantage through the remainder of the first period and a goalless second. With Petrolia racking up a second goal at 0:49 of the third period, that wrapped up the scoring of the night with the Flyers skating away with a 2-0 shutout against the Irish.

Though the scoring was lopsided, the Irish edged out the Flyers on shots, 36-34.

The Lucan Irish continued to work to find their footing as they hit the road Sept. 19 to face off with the Thamesford Trojans.

That matchup put the Irish defence to the test as the Trojans bombarded them with 23 shots on goal in the first period, though Lucan held on and denied every attempt.

But the Irish’s luck started to shift in the second period after the Trojans secure two goals on the power play. From there it was all Thamesford as they scored five more goals by the end of the third, wrapping the game up 7-0 in the Trojans’ favour.

The Irish were back in action Sept. 20 as they took on the 2025-2026 West Yeck division champions, the Mt. Brydges Bulldogs, in Mt. Brydges.

The Bulldogs matchup was action-packed from the start, with Mt. Brydges scoring three goals in the first period. With less than three minutes to go in the first, Lucan’s Matthew Rutledge put the Irish on the board, pushing into the second frame 3-1.

The second period saw the Bulldogs continuing their scoring spree with four more goals while denying the Irish another of their own.

With Colton Henderson of the Lucan Irish scoring at 4:15 in the third period, the final buzzer blew with the Bulldogs ahead 7-2.

After a challenging 2025-2026 season in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s West Yeck division, the Irish’s former board of directors announced earlier this year that the team wouldn’t be renewing its PJHL membership.

However, a new board of directors was brought on board to guide the team’s first steps into a new era for the 2026-2027 season.

The Lucan Irish are scheduled to play against the Port Stanley Sailors in Port Stanley on Sept. 25, followed by an encore matchup against the Sailors in Lucan on Sept. 26.