PJHL Roundup: Braves down Shamrocks to snap two-game skid

By Lee Griffi

After a pair of weekend losses, Tavistock went into Hespeler for a rare Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) Tuesday night game against the Doherty Division cellar dwellers.

It was just what they needed.

The Braves came away with a very efficient 4-1 victory to move into sole possession of sixth place in the Doherty Division standings, one point ahead of the Paris Titans.

Tavistock jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period on goals from Will Schlotzhauer, Liam Gorman and Carter Arseneau. Arseneau added his second of the game and seventh of the season with four seconds left.

General manager Brent Lange is optimistic despite the team’s struggles so far this season.

“We aren't missing much really. This is a good team, we just need to find where guys fit. We have been so hampered by injuries since Game 2 of the season. We're slowly getting guys back and it is time to see what type of team and lines we can put together finally.”

Lange added because of the injury bug, the team is a bit behind others.

“We haven't even got to see how the lines we envisioned at the start of the season will work together until now.”

One bright spot for the team has been the play of recently acquired Liam Gorman, who was obtained from the Stratford Warriors of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). The Cambridge native has four goals and two assists in five games as a Brave.

“He has come in since joining with us and made a nice impact. He's the type of player that can play in all parts of our lineup and is a welcome addition to our club.”

Tavistock still leads the Doherty Division in penalty minutes with 511 in 22 games, something Lange said has been addressed in the locker room.

“It should be something that will start coming around for the better soon here. When some guys are playing in different roles throughout the lineup due to the injuries we had or have and some things are not going your way, tempers sometimes get the best of you and boil over when things aren’t working out.”

He added the division is still tight overall and no one can take a night off.

“You go through the scoreboard night in and night out and the top teams can lose a game to a bottom team any given night. It might not look like that when you just look at it from the outside looking in, or from a computer, but when you get to a game, you can see it night in and night out. This division is so strong.”

In Woodstock on Saturday, the Braves dropped a 5-1 decision to the Navy Vets in front of nearly 600 fans. Gorman gave Tavistock a 1-0 lead early in the first period on a setup from Jack Hodge and Izac Blum. Dorchester downed the Braves 4-2 on Friday night. Marc Dionne and Jaden Schiell found the scoresheet for Tavistock.

The Braves have this coming weekend off before travelling to New Hamburg on Dec. 6 to battle the Firebirds.

New Hamburg splits weekend matchups

The Firebirds kicked off the weekend with a 5-0 trouncing of Paris. Jake Thompson had a huge night with two goals and two assists. Owen Fischer and Cohen Van Zuillen chipped in with two points each while Josh Jacklin earned the shutout with a 28-save performance.

New Hamburg travelled to Norwich on Saturday for a matchup against the first-place Merchants. The Firebirds never led in the game and dropped a 6-3 decision. Fischer, Antonio Pasqualino and Aiden Reid scored in the losing effort.

Applejacks down Shamrocks in overtime

Wellesley earned a 4-3 overtime win thanks to Kian Harron’s seventh goal of the season three minutes into the extra period. The Applejacks roared out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Jack Wamsley, Ian Waddel and Harron, but the Shamrocks tied the game with under two minutes remaining in regulation.