Stayner claims Junior C North Carruthers Division title

Written By Brian Lockhart

The Stayner Siskins have claimed the North Carruthers Division title of the Provincial Junior Hockey League after eliminating the Schomberg Cougars in a four-game sweep.

Both teams had a solid year with the Siskins finishing in the top spot in the league several points ahead of second place.

Schomberg, Alliston, and Orillia all finished the season one point apart meaning it was going to be a tough battle in the playoffs.

The Alliston Hornets were eliminated in the semi-finals after losing 4-3 to the Siskins in their best-of-seven series.

The Cougars knocked out the Orillia Terriers in their semi-final series.

The battle for the division championship got underway on April 7, with Stayner squeezing out a 4-3 win in overtime to take Game One.

Game Two of the series on April 9, saw the Siskins take a 2-0 lead with a 6-3 win.

It was another close game when the teams met for the third in the series. Stayer managed to open the lead to three games with a 3-2 win.

The final game took place on Schomberg Home ice on Wednesday, April 13.

The Siskins were leading 3-0 at the midway mark in the second period.

Schomberg closed the gap with a pair of goals, but Stayner again opened it up with another goal to make it a 4-2 game.

Both teams scored a single point in final period.

The Siskins won the game 5-3 to end the series and claim the Division championship.

Stayner will now go on to play the winner of the North Pollock Division to vie for the North Conference Championship.

The PJHL wrapped up Division titles this past weekend with the final games taking place on Sunday, April 17.

The winner of the Conference will go to the provincial Schmalz Cup championship tournament.

The first two rounds of the tournament will take place on a team's home ice.

The final game will get underway at the University of Guelph on May 15.

The PJHL decided to switch to a tournament style championship this year after the January shut-down caused the league to extend the regular season.

It was decided it was not practical to continue with a best-of-seven championship series due to the late season finish.

If next season continues as normal, the Schmalz Cup championship will resume with the best-of-seven regular format.