Otters Gaining Strength, Winning Last 4 Match Ups

The Huntsville Jr C Otters are off to a solid start this season, with an 8-7 record at the 15 game mark of a 40 game regular season, putting them just north of 500.

The Otters first game of the season saw them hosting the Caledon Golden Hawks for the home opener at the Canada Summit Centre. This was an exciting back and forth game that treated our fans to an edge-of-your-seat, 4-3 Overtime Win for the home team.

This season’s team consists of several rookies, with a few returning vets and some new faces with the bench staff as well. This young team is made up of a great group of young men who are exciting to watch and bring a big compete factor to the rink for each game.

After the home opener win, the Otters played the next 10 games, with some successes and lots of learning and growing, going 3-7 in those match ups.

Over the last two weeks, the Otters have gone 4-0 in their last 4 match ups.

The first of these games began with a Friday night road trip to Penetang. The Otters opened the books with the first goal, only to see the Kings return with two more of their own. At the end of the second period, Huntsville was down 1-2. The Otters came back after the flood and buried 3 unanswered goals in the third, giving them the 4-2 win.

Next, the Otters hit the road again for a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Caledon Golden Hawks. Within the first 5 minutes of the first period the Hawks had come out with a vengeance and buried 3 goals on the Otters. The Otters didn’t let the barrage rattle them, rather it energized the boys. They dug in and took control of the game, burying 5 unanswered goals and leaving the final score a 5-3 win for the Otters.

Last Friday night saw the Otters return home to host the 11-0 Stayner Siskins who sat atop both the Carruthers Division and the PJHL itself. The Otters came to the rink to play and lit the scoreboard up with the first goal of the game, just over the half way mark of the first period. Stayner returned fire, adding their own goal a couple of minutes later, but it would be their last of the game. Huntsville added one more goal for insurance in the second period, which ended the scoring for both teams. The game was a fast paced, end to end match up between the two clubs, providing lots of excitement for our hometown fans. When the final buzzer rang, it was Huntsville with the 2-1 win.

Huntsville hit the road the next day for a match up with the Innisfil Spartans. Innisfil came out strong and snuck in the first goal of the game. Huntsville dug in and found a few more gears, returning with 6 of their own goals and taking control, allowing only 1 more goal for the Spartans. At the end of the 60 minutes, the Otters left with a decisive 6-2 win.

The Otters have been providing lots of entertainment for our awesome hometown fans. Huntsville really is a great hockey town and they have been showing substantial support to our boys with an average of 285 fans per home game. We are just getting started – there are 25 regular season games remaining. Come on out for a fun evening/afternoon of hockey either at home or on the road-most weekends see the boys hitting the ice for 2 games. You can follow our website, Facebook and Instagram pages and the PJHL website to keep up to date with our schedule and scores and login to our Youtube page when you can’t get to the rink in person (our home games are livestreamed with our away games uploaded after the game).

See you at the rink – GO OTTERS GO!!