PJHL Roundup: Braves knock off Navy Vets to inch closer to top spot

By Lee Griffi

Tavistock seems to be hitting its stride at just the right time.

The Braves earned four points on the weekend with a pair of victories, including a come-from-behind thriller in Woodstock against the Doherty Division-leading Navy Vets on Saturday night.

Trailing 2-1 with nine and a half minutes left in the third, Nicholas Hambly scored his first goal of the season on a feed from Henry Kotyk, and six and a half minutes later, Keegan Metcalf scored the game-winning goal thanks to a perfect breakaway stretch pass from Keaton Bartlett.

“It was an awesome game. I thought we played very well as a team,” said Tavistock native and assistant captain Keaton Bartlett.

“We were very structured, competed very hard throughout the whole game and stuck it out and we were able to power through,” he added.

Bartlett gave Tavistock a 1-0 lead with a powerplay goal early in the second period but Woodstock scored the next two goals. Blake Richard stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn his 15th victory of the season.

The 20-year-old offensive defenceman, who was acquired from the Greater Ontario Hockey League’s (GOHL) Ayr Centennials last season, gave a lot of credit to one of his coaches.

“Brody Oliver is very good at giving me confidence and encouraging me to make the plays I think I should make. He lets all the defence play offensively, which helps get shots through and offensive production.”

Bartlett has 24 points in 36 games and has been finding the scoresheet consistently over the last couple of months. He explained the team’s success comes from a solid locker room.

“Everyone knows each other from either past teams or friendships from school and I think that helps. We were able to bond together quickly at the start of the season and we’ve been able to keep that rolling.”

He added finishing as high as possible in the standings is the goal over the next three games as the postseason looms. Unfortunately, the Braves do not have another game with the Navy Vets.

“We hope to win out the rest of the way to guarantee second and just keep playing how we’re playing heading into the playoffs. We should be sitting pretty good.”

The Doherty Division has long been one of the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) most competitive, and Bartlett added that every team is capable of winning on any given night – something that should help once the regular season ends.

“Every night is competitive and you can’t take any nights off. We’ve been playing in a playoff mindset since we came back from the Christmas break. That has helped us gear up for the playoffs and hopefully, a long run.”

Tavistock hosted Paris on Saturday night and earned a 5-2 win. The Braves jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the 8:45 mark of the second period on goals from Arseneau, Brett Bell, Jacob Reid-Brant and Yann Raskin. The Titans cut the lead to 4-1 going into the third, but Even Palubeski scored to seal the victory.

The Braves have won eight straight games and trail the Navy Vets by only three points. Both teams have three games remaining.

New Hamburg dropped its third straight game in Wellesley on Saturday, falling 5-1 as Applejacks goaltender Xavier Bussiere stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced. Owen Brown led the winners with three assists as 12 skaters found the scoresheet and the two teams combined for 92 penalty minutes. The Firebirds were blanked 4-0 in Woodstock on Friday night.

Wellesley dropped its first game of the weekend, a 4-3 loss in Norwich. Ian Speiran and Jake L’Heureux led the offence with a goal and an assist each, with Ben Morton adding a single marker.