PJHL Roundup: Applejacks hanging on to second place
- Jan 29
- 3 min read
By Lee Griffi
Wellesley sits just two points behind Woodstock for top spot in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) Doherty Division.
The Applejacks won their only game of the weekend, a 6-4 victory over last-place Dorchester on Saturday. Hudson Parker led the offence with a goal and three assists while top-scorer Ian Speiran added three points. Rhys McCloskey and Jake L’Heureux added a goal and an assist each.
Head Coach Derek Lebold was asked by the Gazette if his team could be described as the sneaky, quiet squad in the division after a consistent season to date.
“That’s probably a pretty good way of describing us. We are very focused on our internal processes and haven’t watched the standings much at all,” he said.
Despite a lack of focus on who sits where, Lebold admitted having home-ice advantage in the playoffs is a big deal.
“Finishing one to three is key, but we haven’t been trying to monetize that in the room. We’re just trying to be consistent and deliver a consistent message to the boys and they’ve been executing. We don’t really care about outside noise.”
The Applejacks offence is led by Speiran who has 44 points to lead the team. He’s followed by one of the league’s highest-scoring defensemen in Riley Noble with 37 points. The team has improved offensively since the Christmas break but continues to get contributions from many players.
“Everybody knows who our big players are within our division. Lately, the depth scoring, the middle order of our lineup have stepped it up – guys like Hudson Parker, who’s only in his second year, McCloskey, who has been fantastic for us all year.”
Lebold added guys like Kaelan McDougald, with just three points in 25 games, play an important role with the team.
“If you come to a game, you’ll see that kid log tonnes of minutes that allows better matchups for us to let guys like Speiran and those guys out the door. We have more of a depth mentality since the break. We’ve got to win with all four lines, as cliché as that is to say, but it’s crucial for us.”
Lebold said the offence has been able to score more because they can roll four lines, something that tires the opposition out.
“The points are awesome and you’re always going to credit those guys, but the guys on the fourth line do yeoman's work. They keep pucks deep, tiring defences out, allowing some of our bigger and older guys over the walls to finish things out.”
Lebold, in his second season as head coach after three years as an assistant, said depth will be key going into the post-season.
“I’ve never been on any type of winning team, playing or coaching, that has won anything significant without the use of all four lines. I have yet to see it done. Our management group this summer focused on depth as opposed to a top-heavy offensive structure.”
New Hamburg played just one of its two scheduled games as Sunday’s tilt in Paris was postponed due to another blast of winter. On Friday, the Firebirds hosted Tavistock and suffered a 5-2 loss as the Braves held a 42-19 edge in shots.
Ethan Stover scored twice in the first period to give the Braves a quick 2-0 lead with Carson Bernhardt assisting on both and Jack Hodge on one. Owen Bruder cut the lead to 2-1 in the second, but Tavistock scored three times in the final frame as Yann Raskin, with two, and Hodge found the back of the net. Ezra Fischer added a Firebirds goal in the third for New Hamburg who sit three points behind the Braves with one game in hand and have lost three straight games.
New Hamburg took to social media to thank its fan base for their loyalty this season.
“With only four home games remaining … we have felt the support and the love from our fan base here in New Hamburg and Wilmot Township. Out of 61 PJHL teams, your Firebirds rank fifth in the entire league in attendance, averaging 435 fans per game.”
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