Bruins win two more in home stretch

Roger Varley

With a decisive win over the Schomberg Cougars last Thursday and a hard-fought victory over Perry LumberJacks the following night, the Uxbridge Bruins are showing they are already in playoff mode.

The game in Schomberg was over less than a minute after the opening whistle when Darin Bain scored what proved to be the winning goal at the 0:58 mark.He was assisted by Luke Kemp and Ryan Shier. It was the first of five unanswered goals. Two more goals came in the first period, scored by Jordan Bonner and Devin Hollands, with Jordan Fitger scoring in the second and the third.

Last Friday, the Bruins returned to the arena to host their arch-rivals, the LumberJacks. It was a typical Uxbridge-Port Perry meeting and the first period produced excellent fast-paced action. The LumberJacks took the lead on a power-play just past the halfway mark of the first period. With 33 seconds left in the stanza, Bain tied the score, assisted by Bonner and Tyson Lotton.

The Bruins were a little less sharp in the second period. Tucker Roberts scored from a sharp angle early in the period to put the Bruins ahead, but the LumberJacks came back with two to take the lead.

In the third period, Shier tied the score when he stepped out of the penalty box behind the Port Perry defence and took a long pass from Cameron Meek to go in alone against the Port goalie. At the midway mark, a bit of a donnybrook broke out, resulting in players from both teams ejected, but only one minor called.

After the dust settled, Evan Gilbert teamed up with Benson Moore to put the Bruins ahead and Jack Kemp added another with a minute remaining, aided by Meek. Finally, Luke Kemp finished the game with an empty-netter.

The Cosmos selected Meek as player of the game for Uxbridge and gave the nod to Dylan Leslie of Port Perry.

As of Tuesday, the Bruins retained a four-point lead atop the PJHL's Orr Division, with a record of 31 wins and six losses Only five games - (possibly six) - remain in the regular season.

The Bruins return to action tomorrow (Friday) night when they host the lowly Caledon Golden Hawks and follow that with a Sunday afternoon game against the LumberJacks in Port Perry.

Bear pause: When Bain scored Uxbridge's first goal Friday night, a barrage of teddy bears flew over the boards onto the ice surface. This was the Bruins' first Teddy Bear Toss in a number of years and all the bears were to be sent to the SickKids Hospital. In addition, the Bruins donated all the proceeds from the 50-50 draw, the Chuck-a-Puck contest and donations to the hospital for a total of $531.

Special guests of the Bruins on Friday were the U9 Warriors, who watched the warm-up from the Uxbridge bench and spent some time with the players.