PJHL Roundup: Applejacks bounce back, retain division lead

Players on the ice watch as New Hamburg Firebirds’ forward Josh Souliere’s second goal of the game enters the Dorchester Dolphins’ net during the Firebirds’ 5-3 win over the Dolphins on Oct. 17. The goal was the eventual game winner, and Souliere’s two-goal effort gave him four goals on the season. Alec Richard photo

By Lee Griffi

A Tavistock loss combined with a Wellesley victory means the Applejacks are one point clear of the Braves at the top of the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) Doherty Division.

Wellesley dropped a 6-2 decision in Woodstock on Saturday despite outshooting the Navy Vets 42-32. Ben Morton and Riley Noble scored for the Applejacks, who roared back into the win column on Sunday with an 11-4 drubbing of Paris. Leading scorer Ian Speiran scored four times and now has 19 points in 11 games. Luke Schofield added a goal and three assists, and Ryan Brenton chipped in with three points. Wellesley outshot Paris 66-37 for its eighth win in two games.

Tavistock started the weekend with a 5-4 overtime victory in Norwich. Yann Raskin scored the game-winner just 57 seconds into the extra period on a feed from Evan Palubeski and Carson Bernhardt. The Merchants had a 3-1 lead early in the second period, but goals from Raskin and Marc Dionne tied it up heading into the third.

The Braves travelled to Dorchester on Saturday and were trounced 9-4 by the Dolphins. Palubeski scored three times in a losing effort, while Carter Arseneau had a pair of assists. Tavistock native Connor Roth scored his first goal of the season for Dorchester.

New Hamburg earned its fourth win of the season with a 5-3 home-ice win over Dorchester on Friday. Captain Andrew Gear led the attack with three assists while Josh Soulliere scored twice. Aydan Burns, Ben Oliver and Jayden Fischer scored single markers while Connor Harman kicked out 25 of the 28 shots he faced.