Odaro Ewere of the Stouffville Spirit shoots on Toronto Jr. Canadiens goaltender Joshua Branton during the third period at the Scotiabank Pond in Downsview Sunday. The game ended 2-2 after double overtime. (Photo by Paul Mauceri / OJHL Images)}
It’s shaping up to be a fight to the finish.
The Stouffville Spirit find themselves in a tie with the Lindsay Muskies for the final playoff spot in the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s East Conference on Saturday. The Spirit has a game in hand on Lindsay. The Haliburton County Huskies are four points up on Stouffville and Lindsay.
The Spirit have earned points in nine of their last 10 games.
Lindsay defeated the Toronto Patriots 6-2 at home Friday to pull into the tie.The Muskies are home to the Oakville Blades Saturday night.
The Spirit, who have 10 games remaining in the regular season, host the nationally-ranked Trenton Golden Hawks at the Stouffville Arena Saturday night.
“We have worked hard to put ourselves in the position we are in,” Spirit Head Coach TJ Hill told Bullet Point News. “There is a lot of work left to do as we have a number of games against very good hockey teams, and we’re focused on what we can control: our effort, preparation and commitment to the process of getting better every day.”
THE SKED
Trenton st Stouffville, Saturday, Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Stouffville at Cobourg, Monday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m.
Markham at Stouffville, Thursday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.
All Spirit games are broadcast on FloHockey. Go to: https://www.flohockey.tv/
THE SCORES
St. Michael’s 5, Stouffville 4 OT, Thursday, Feb. 8
A short-staffed Spirit lineup erased a two-goal deficit in the third period to earn a point but lost in the first overtime at the Stouffville Arena. Lachlan Wells scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season. Cam Kosurko and Julian Demiglio scored during the third. The Spirit, who outshot the Buzzers 31-28, say they had a goal taken away that was scooped out of the net. All four officials huddled and disagreed.
Stouffville 2, Toronto Jr. Canadiens 2, Sunday Feb. 4
Super rookie Nolan Jackson scored at 9:26 of the third period to eventually send the Sunday nighter into overtime at Scotiabank Pond in Downsview. Former Jr. Canadien U18 forward Riley Pope gave the Spirit a 1-0 lead after one. The Spirit oushot the Jr. Canadiens 46-37. Kyle Downey was outstanding in the Spirit net.
Stouffville 6, Niagara Falls Canucks 3, Saturday Feb. 3
The Spirit, who got goals from six different players, held period leads of 3-2 and 4-2 at the Stouffville Arena. Stephen Tollt earned the win. Peter Kioussis scored his team-leading 29th goal. Other scorers were Jackson, Danny Thomakos, player of the game Riley Clark, Wells and Andoni Fimis.
NOTEBOOK
Kendall Lily will play a pre-game concert in the lobby of the Stouffville Arena beginning at 6:50 p.m. tonight.
The Spirit is hosting Whitchurch-Public Library night at its Feb. 15 game. You can meet the library staff and learn more about services offered. Spirit players took part in a reading program at the library last fall. For more on the library, click here: https://www.wsplibrary.ca/
Members of Stouffville’s Voices Alive Choir will perform the national anthem before the home game on Feb. 22. For more information on the choir, click here: https://voicesalive.ca/
The Spirit will host students and staff from Summitview Public School at the Feb. 29 game.
TRANSACTIONS
Ryan Harvey left the Spirit this week to sign with the Spruce Grove Saints of the British Columbia Hockey League,
Spirit This Week is sponsored by Farmer Jack’s in Stouffville and Sharon
