- The Spirit started their weekend with a Saturday night home game against the Cobourg Cougars:
- The home team put their talent on display early, controlling the puck well through the first period. Spirit forward Odaro Ewere struck first, thanks to help from Charlie Vanhaverbeke and Lachlan Wells, making it 1-0.
- The Cougars took advantage of a high-sticking penalty by Spirit Riley Pope, scoring a power play goal late in the first to tie things up.
- A defensive contest ensued through the second, with Stouffville killing off two penalties to keep the score tied 1-1 at the end of the second.
- Lachlan Wells, served by Peter Kioussis and Ewere, saw the Spirit scoring once again, making it 2-1 halfway through the final period.
- Ryan Harvey, assisted by Andoni Fimis and Zack Corte, wrapped up the Spirit victory, making the final score 3-1.
- The Spirit narrowly outshot Cobourg 29-28. Stephen Toltl had 27 saves, and Harvey was awarded the Player of the Game belt.
- Their loss to Stouffville, combined with a follow-up defeat by Markham on Monday night, saw the Cougars fall to the #5 spot in the OJHL East Conference ranking.
- Stouffville hit the road the following day, facing the Wellington Dukes on Sunday:
- The Spirit defence went to work through the first, aided by strong goaltending from Toltl. A goal by Ewere, assisted by Harvey, had the away team up by one at the start of the second.
- The Dukes tied things up with an early second-period strike, and Spirit penalties facilitated a second Wellington score soon after.
- Less than a minute later, Spirit forward Cameron Kosurko brought the score to 2-2 thanks to an assist from David Paglia.
- In their own rapid fashion, the Dukes responded immediately with a goal by Nick Dipaolo. The Spirit closed out the second period down one.
- The defensive battle continued through the third with no shortage of penalties, and Stouffville was unable to equalize. They were outshot 24-20 at game-end, losing 2-3.
- Now 14-10-3, Stouffville remains in the #9 spot. They face a two-game and four-point deficit to the 16-12-3 St. Michaels Buzzers, who currently occupy the East Conference’s last playoff spot.
- The Spirit will face the Markham Royals next in an away contest on Friday. They will then be at home versus the Lindsay Muskies on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at the Stouffville Arena.
Photo by Ed McPherson, courtesy of OJHL Images