Bruins continue to dazzle and dominate
Roger Varley
With another blowout victory over the Caledon Golden Hawks at the arena last Friday, the Uxbridge Bruins won the opening round of the PJHL's Orr Division playoffs in four straight games.
The final score of 18-0 pushed the Bruins' goal scoring in the series to 53, while they allowed only two. In Friday's game, the Bruins scored 10 goals in the first period, two in the second and six in the third, with 13 different players registering goals. They fired a total of 80 shots at the Caledon net, while the Golden Hawks managed only eight. Once again, the Caledon team was eight men short on the bench.
The Bruins head into the semi-finals Friday night when they host the Port Perry LumberJacks at the arena at 7:45 p.m. Port Perry defeated the Little Britain Merchants in four games in their opening round matchup.
Following Friday's game, head coach Dan West acknowledged the easy wins over Caledon could have an adverse effect on the Bruins.
"We talked about it all through the series," West said. "I told them to stay sharp and get good habits."
West described his defensive units as "blue collar" defencemen, while saying the team's depth on the forward lines is "unmatched." He pointed out the team won a record number of games during the regular season.
Prior to the opening faceoff, PJHL Eastern Conference manager Kirsten Shaw presented the Bruins with a number of awards. Ryan Shier was awarded a trophy as the Orr Division's most valuable player in the 2025-26 season. He was acquired by the Bruins during the 2023-24 season and this season led the team in a record breaking effort, scoring 22 goals and 31 assists.
Robbie DiMaria was named the division's most valuable goalie after registering 19 wins and only four losses. After being acquired by the Bruins in the 2024-25 season, he allowed only 31 goals in 2025-26 while facing a total of 540 shots, giving him a remarkable save percentage of 94.3 per cent. He also had six shutouts.
DiMaria and Kevin Halloran combined to win the division's team goaltending award. Between them, the two goalies had 45 wins and six losses, with a combined goals-against average of 1.66, the best in the entire PJHL.
Finally, the Uxbridge Bruins received the award for finishing the season atop the Orr Division division.