Brad Somers – in the throwback Dave Keon No. 14 jersey – leads the Ontario Junior Hockey League with 30 points for the white-hot St. Michael’s Buzzers. (Photo by Paul Mauceri  / OJHL Images)

BY RON VALENTINE

Three more wins this week for the South Division's St. Michael's Buzzers as the storied Toronto team extended their streak to nine to tie the season record set by the Trenton Golden Hawks in October. 

Other ‘games’ of note during the past week in the Ontario Junior Hockey League:

• The Haliburton County Huskies saw their winning run end at five games.

• The West and East divisions remained very competitive with all 10 clubs at .500 or better.

• The Brantford 99ers, Collingwood Blues, Toronto Junior Canadiens and Burlington Cougars won both of their games.

• The Mississauga Chargers did not play this week. 

MONDAY - The third meeting this season between two East Division rivals. The Cobourg Cougars took the first two, the second one in double overtime. This one would also go to extra time with the visiting Lindsay Muskies coming out on top 4-3. Fifty-nine seconds remained in the second OT session when Thomas Johnston, one of two Lindsay natives on the team, gave the visitors the extra point. Cobourg led 3-1 with six minutes left in the third before Alex Farmer scored his first OJHL goal and, with four minutes to go, defenceman Gunnar van Damme tied the game. Duncan Scullion assisted on both goals and Boyd Stahlbaum ran his point streak to five games with an assist on the winning goal. For the home team, Trevor Hoskin and Andy Reist both logged a goal and an assist and blueliner Adam Barone got his first goal.

TUESDAY - A team in first place in their division and one looking to move into top spot in theirs met in Pickering as the Panthers welcomed the Oakville Blades for a matinee performance. Lucas Rowe extended his goal-scoring string to five games as he got the Panthers off and running. In Period 2, Chase Strychaluk evened the score with his sixth goal and extended his point coring run to eight games.The game winner came just 34 seconds into the third from the Panthers' Ethan Lindsay. A 2-1 final and four wins in a row now for Pickering.

Two struggling North Division teams met in Stouffville with the Markham Royals in to visit the Spirit for an afternoon contest and the home team would collect just their second victory of the season that allowed them to vacate the basement. Odaro Eware made his first OJHL goal count, it came in the second period and it would be the game winner in the 4-1 contest. For the Spirit, Anthony Lamanna tabbed his club-leading sixth of the season. Matthew Minichiello had the Royals' goal, his fourth in the last five games. Minnesota native Cody Tiecen stopped 24 Markham shots. Davis Bone and Jacob Dupuis made their Stouffville debuts after being traded from Haliburton and Markham goalie Justin Dilario made his first start since coming from the OHL Mississauga Steelheads.

THURSDAY - Bryce Sutherland's overtime goal extended the St. Michael's Buzzers' winning streak to seven and moved them to within one point of the second-place Junior Canadiens in the South as they registered their 5-4 home win over the Wellington Dukes. Brad Somers had three assists for the winners to move up to first overall in the OJHL scoring leaders with 27 points. In his second game in a Dukes' uniform, Graham Dickerson's goal with a little over a minute left in the third gave the visitors the single point. Bryce Sutherland and Aiden Shepard had three point nights for the Buzzers and Harrison Ballard scored twice for the Dukes. Justin Wolder, just obtained by Wellington from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the AJHL had the Dukes' second goal.

Jake Partridge, Easton Wainwright and Brendan Anderson combined for 11 points as the Brantford 99ers got past the visiting Markham Royals, who stayed winless on the road, by a 7-2 count. Partridge and Wainwright each had two goals while Anderson had four helpers. Four goals in the second period by the home team broke this one wide open. The first was scoreless until Wainwright got his first of the game with 10 seconds left in the first period. Kurt Watson had a shorthanded marker for the 99ers. Captain Jake on Wainwright: "Easton is a stud and he's only going to keep improving as he gets bigger, stronger and faster. You'd swear he was a fifth-year vet!" Jake himself has been held off the scoresheet just once this season.

Home ice did not treat the struggling Caledon Admirals well as the Toronto Patriots came away from Mayfield with a 6-1 victory. Ryan Forberg, coming off a two-goal game, scored the first three of this one, two in the first period and also added an assist. He now leads the club in scoring with 13 points. Jonathon Mead had a goal and four points, McKay Hayes with a goal and two assists. It was the second OJHL win for goalkeeper Robert Andreakos Jr. who made 33 saves.

FRIDAY - Guy Fawkes Day – and there were fireworks!  

David Burri had his first two OJHL points with a goal (the game winner) and an assist as the Collingwood Blues won 4-1 in Markham. The two points would bring the Blues to within one of first place Pickering in the North. Adam O'Marra's third-period goal gave him six for the campaign tied for the club lead with Mark McIntosh. Noah Pak made 31 saves in recording his eighth win of the season. Blues’ director of hockey operations Jordan Selinger:" Pak is an elite goalie, we always have a chance when he is in the net. Overall, it was nowhere near our best effort but we will take the two points." It was the third game in a row for the Blues ending in a 4-1 final score, two in their favour,

At Central Arena, the Burlington Cougars took a 3-1 first period lead and beat the Pickering 5-3. The Panthers came into the contest on a four-game winning streak.  Matt Franzoi scored the game winner, his fifth of the season, and Jack Richard netted his eighth. Myles Perry had two for the Panthers, both coming on the power play. Winning Head Coach Mark Jooris: "We did force them to make mistakes. (Joel) Chauvin's play (1G, 1A) was very good tonight and our goalie (Kyle Metson) plays the puck very well. Make no mistake, the Panthers are a very good team."

Tai York, who played last season for the USPHL's Charlotte Rush registering 40 points in 23 games there, had two goals and helped the visiting Cobourg Cougars to a 5-2 win in Lindsay in a reprise of Monday's contest. He opened the scoring and added the game winner in the second stanza. Isaac Pascoal had a shorthanded score for the winners and Jack Falkner also had one for the Muskies. With the win, Cobourg move up to the .500 mark. Mason Vaccari had a big night in net for the Cougars saving 34 shots.

Christian Stevens' goal just past the six minute mark of the final frame gave the Haliburton County Huskies a 2-1 win in Trenton. Eight points in five games for the former OHLer. Blueliner Brannon Butler got the Golden Hawks going quickly with a goal just two minutes into the contest scoring on the power play. It was the club's league-leading 65th goal of the season. Sam Solarino with his fourth, tied the contest early in the second period. Christain Cicigoi got the 'W' with 41 saves. The Thunder Bay native has won six of his seven starts for the Huskies. Ethan Taylor made 26 saves in the loss. Make that five in a row now for Haliburton. Four of those games were decided by a single goal. Huskies captain Nate Porter: "It makes a huge difference having a 'brick wall'  for a goalie. It gives everyone up front more confidence. Really glad he's between the pipes for us."

A really tight game in Wellington as the Dukes scored the only goal courtesy Brodie McDougall eight minutes in against the South-leading North York Rangers. The goal came with the home side enjoying the man-advantage. In the battle of the goalies Matthew Dunsmoor recorded the shutout saving 23 while in the Rangers' net James Gray stopped 24. Dukes' Head Coach Derek Smith: "The division is getting tighter and tighter every day. Any team has a chance to win on any night and that's good for the league. We have to be ready to compete every shift. We have struggled at times with consistency this season but the last couple of weeks we have started to turn the corner and tonight was a prime example of playing a good team game. Both goalies were great and in holding the Rangers to 23 shots it shows our guy's commitment to playing a full 60 minutes."

Lee Chiang scored in each period as the Aurora Tigers topped the visiting Oakville Blades 5-3. For Chiang, the former Toronto Patriot, they were his fourth, fifth and sixth in a Tiger uniform. Tommy Kloepfer's goal early in the second gave the home side a 3-0 advantage. Michael Tiveron's third period marker got the Blades to within one before Chiang's third sealed their fate. Aurora, with the win, moved back to the .500 mark. Goalkeeper Nolan Boyd, recently obtained from the MHL's Grand Falls Rapids, got off to a winning start in the OJHL. Also making his debut at the other end of the ice was Tristan Malboeuf, signed from the OHL Hamilton Bulldogs. Four of the next five are home games for the Tigers and as forward Justin Biraben, who along with captain Luc Reeve leads the club with 16 points, noted: "We are striving for more consistency as a team. We are beating some good clubs right now and playing at home should help us get on the win streak we have been looking for."

The visiting Brantford 99ers led 4-0 after 40 minutes and held on to get past the Menace of Milton 5-3. Easton Wainwright had the first two for the 99ers, both coming on the power play as did their third from Jake Partridge. Ten on the season now for the rookie from Mount Hope and a team-leading 17 points. The home side made a comeback in the third period with goals from Jordan Stock, Lucas Buzziol and Holden Rogers  but Jaden Lee's goal at 19:34 put it out of reach. Lucas Thompson had the game winner. It was the 99ers’ fourth road win this season. Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald: "It was a good win for our group and two much-needed points in a tight division. Easton is a special player, it's fun to watch him grow his game and confidence."

SATURDAY - In the matinee contest it was a battle of two teams with winning streaks meeting in Minden. The Buzzers came in with seven straight victories and the Huskies five and it would be the visitors who prevailed by a 4-2 score. Bryce Sutherland had two goals including the game winner and an empty-netter plus an assist and Brad Somers had two assists to lead the League in points with 29. For the Huskies, Oliver Tarr scored goal No. 15 and two recent acquisitions from Wellington figured in the scoring: Cameron Kosurko had a goal and blueliner Jonah Cochrane had an assist.

It was meeting No. 5 already this season for the Toronto Junior Canadiens and the Patriots this time at Westwood. The J.Cs took the first three games and the Patriots won the fourth. Named as an assistant captain this week Tyler Fukakusa scored three times, a natural hat trick, for the Junior Canadiens as they eked out a 4-3 victory. Jordan Karafile had the other goal for the winners, the game-opener. Joseph Martino's marker with just over five minutes remaining brought the Patriots to within one. 

At the Mayfield arena in Caledon, the Muskies and host Admirals clashed for the fourth time following three lop-sided wins for Lindsay but tonight the home side would register win No. 2 of the campaign in a hard-fought contest by a 4-1 score. Jack Barkley led the way with two goals. Raine Hodge and Lucas Smith (EN) completed the Caledon scoring. Jack Falkner had the Muskies' goal.

At Sixteen Mile in Oakville, Blades' captain Brendan Bowie got one past Cale McWilliams but not before the Menace 'keeper had saved 43 shots and there was only three and a half minutes left in the third period. With Jordan Stock's opening goal and his empty-netter and a Lucas Buzziol marker Milton took the contest 3-1 and moved to within one point of the third place Blades in the tight West Division race. 

Ben Pickell's overtime goal gave the Panthers a 4-3 decision over the Raiders at the Alcott. It was a big night for ex-Halifax Moosehead defenceman Brendan Tomilson who assisted on all the Pickering goals. There were two shorthanded goals in the game, one from Myles Perry and one by the Raiders' Andrew Della Revere. This was a close contest. Regulation time saw a goal for both teams in each period.

When the ice chips had settled following Saturday's action only four points separated top and tail in the wild West Division. Burlington had 20 points, Georgetown 19, Oakville 17 and Brantford and Milton with 16. Only one home team came out  victorious – Caledon.

SUNDAY - There were three matinees and three evening games to round out the week's schedule. 

In Markham, the Royals, playing their fourth game this week, took Burlington to overtime before bowing 4-3. Josh Belgrave with his ninth goal and 21st point of the season gave the Cougars the win in extra time session number two. With the extra attacker on the ice late in regulation Matthew Minichiello scored his second to guarantee the Royals a point. The Cougars' 'keeper Zach Dietz was credited with 60 saves. Win No. 11 for Burlington to lead the way in the  ultra-competitive West. 

Ayden Dooley's goal just past the midway point in the third period gave the Blues a 2-1 win over the Spirit at the Eddie Bush arena. The goal came on the powerplay and was the Orillia-born blueliner's third of the campaign. Ryan Cutler gave Stouffville the lead in the second period and Adam O'Marra tied it up early in the final frame. Defenceman Ricards Landmanis, who played for the Venta organization in his native Latvia before joining Hill Academy, had an assist on both goals. Chalk up another 'W' for Blues goalie Noah Pak, No. 9 for him. Today's win puts the Blues just a single point behind the Panthers atop the North.

At the Herb Carnegie arena in North York, the Buzzers topped the Rangers 4-1 to move, at least temporarily, into second spot in the South and in doing so they increased their winning streak to nine games. Riley Sutherland's seventh of the season scored in the second period would be the game winner. Blueliner Tomas Grossi recorded his first OJHL goal for the winners and captain Brad Somers had an assist and became the first player to reach the 30-point mark. Cole Moore got his ninth win saving 37 shots. Max Donohoe (his ninth) had the North York tally.

The Raiders were looking for their fifth straight road win as they travelled the short distance to Milton for the next episode of the 'Battle of Halton Hills. But it was the Menace offence firing on all cylinders as they built up a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. Hometown hero Ryan O'Donnell got the team off on the right foot with his first goal of the season and in the second period another first  goal this time from defenceman Ben Hofstetter. The final count was 6-2 in favour of the Menace, who moved to third in the West, with captain Jordan Stock scoring twice and Nick Wehera weighing in with three assists. 

A win for the Junior Canadiens would mean a tie for top place in the South with the Rangers in the tangled top three. Perhaps J.C. blueliner Hayden Heinrich said 'Give me a half a minute' because that's how long it took him to put his team up 1-0. Eric Vitale scored his lucky 13th to give Toronto a 2-0 edge after 20 minutes. The second stanza was scoreless but Vitale connected again early in the third then keyed a Dukes' comeback with goals from Barret Joynt and Harrison Ballardvbut the J.C's would hold on for the 3-2 win. Former Burlington Cougar Zev Podolski assisted on all three J.C. scores.. 

Coming off just their second win of the season, the Admirals made the trip to Trenton and they gave the East Division leaders a close game but fell short in the 3-2 final. Sebastian Bulovs put Caledon ahead early but the home side got three straight before Jack Berkley, with an unassisted power-play goal in the middle of the third made it a one goal game. The Hawks' Dalton Bancroft's goal and assist put him at 28 points, good for second in OJHL scoring, two ahead of Bryce Sutherland of the Buzzers. Caledon netminder Owen Porter made a prodigious 57 saves. The Golden Hawks lead the East by four points and lead the OJHL with a .800 winning percentage, just ahead of Burlington on .786. 

Follow Ron Valentine on Twitter @ronandlynda