Stayner Siskins to advance to next round of Schmaltz Cup playoffs

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Stayner Siskins will advance to the championship tournament of the Junior C Schmaltz Cup provincial playoffs after knocking out the Mount Forest Patriots in the North Conference championship series.

Stayner clinched the series with a 6-2 win in game six on Sunday, April 30.

The series got underway on April 21, with the Siskins winning the first two games.

Game three gave Mount Forest a 5-2 win on April 25.

Stayner was leading 3-1 after taking game four 6-3 on home ice.

The teams were back for game five on April 28, with Stayner hoping to finish it with a win.

That game had a massive Patriots comeback effort after Stayner ended the first period with a 3-0 lead. The Patriots blasted into the second period scoring four unanswered goals to take the lead. They finished the game with three more third-period goals to take a 7-4 win and keep the series alive.

The series was back in Stayner on Sunday. After two periods, the game was tied 1-1.

Stayner scored early in the third period, then followed with two more goals before the seven-minute mark for a 5-1 lead. They ended the game with an empty net goal to get the win and earn the right to advance to the championship tournament.

The Schmalz Cup championship tournament will take place in Woodstock on May 12 to 14.

Along with Stayner, competing teams are the Wellesley Applejacks from the South Conference, Lakeshore Canadiens from the West Conference, and the Clarington Eagles from the East Conference.

The tournament will feature round-robin style play to see which teams will advance and make it to the championship final.

The Siskins had a stellar season finishing first in the North Carruthers Division of the Provincial Hockey League.

They knocked out the second-place Alliston Hornets in the Division championship series. That series took five games to complete.

After taking a loss in the first game of the Division championship series, the Siskins won four straight.

The Siskins now have a week to prepare for the Schmalz Cup.