Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

As the regular season moves to the final ten games, the North Carruthers Division of the Provincial Junior Hockey League is seeing a battle for first place as Junior C teams put out their best effort to secure a good place in the standings before heading into the playoffs.

Across the province, eight divisions will be battling to see which teams are division champions this season before moving on to compete for the provincial Schmalz Cup.

The Alliston Hornets continue to lead the North Carruthers Division with 48 points and a 24-9 record.

The Hornets have maintained first place for most of the season.  They dropped to second for a brief period when they went on a slump and the Stayner Siskins took over.

However, the Hornets rebounded and moved back into the top spot.

Alliston lost their last game to the Stayner Siskins on Jan. 8, on Stayner home ice.

“It was a good game,” said Alliston forward Gunner Kirk of the team's performance on the ice. “We came out hot and we scored the first goal. We fell off for a few minutes and they capitalized and got a quick couple of goals. The rest of the game was all us. We came back hard and tied the game up. It was a tight game.”

The Stayner Siskins are in second place in the North Carruthers division with 45 points. After 31 games, the Siskins have won 22 times on the ice.

In third place, the Orillia Terriers are having a good season and are a big contender going into the playoffs. With a 20-9 record, the Terriers have proven they can win and they have won a game over every other team in the division.

The Penetang Kings are in the number four spot with 40 points and an 18-11 record including three overtime losses and one shoot-out loss.

In the middle of the pack, the Midland Flyers have 32 points, and the Muskoka Bears are right behind with 20 points recorded so far this season.

In the bottom of the standings, the Innisfil Spartans are in seventh place with 17 points and eight wins after 28 times on the ice.  

The Huntsville Otters have 17 points and eight wins after 30 games.

The final games of the North Carruthers regular season will take place on Monday, Feb. 16.