Written By Brian Lockhart

Junior C hockey across the province is now underway, with seven divisions battling it out in the quarter-final round of competition.

In the North Carruthers Division, eight teams are playing it out in a bid for the Division championship.

The Stayner Siskins dominated the league as a powerhouse team this season. They are up against the Midland Flyers in the quarter-final.

After the first three games, Stayner is leading 3-0, including a slam-bang on Saturday, Mar. 11, where they won 9-1 over the Flyers on Midland home ice.

Midland barely made it into the playoffs. They played a one-game qualifier against the Caledon Golden Hawks on Mar. 8, and won in overtime to be the last seed in the playoff line-up.

The second-place Alliston Hornets are up against the Penetang Kings in their quarter-final series.

Alliston is leading the series 3-0. That includes a 6-0 shut-out on Penetang home ice on Mar. 11 in game two of the series and a 9-4 win in game three.

The Schomberg Cougars finished third in the regular season and are up against the Huntsville Otters in their quarter-final.

After the first three games, the Cougars have pulled ahead with a win in all three games. Game four of that series was scheduled to take place in Schomberg on Tuesday, Mar. 14.

The Orillia Terriers are up against the Innisfil Spartans for their quarter-final series. Both teams finished the regular season in the middle of the standings, only a couple of points apart, so this series is a real battle.

Game one ended with an Innisfil win. The second game tied the series when Orillia came out on top. Orillia was leading with a 5-4 win in the series' third game.

Game four was scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 14, in Orillia.

There will be some exciting hockey once the semi-finals get underway.

This year, it could be anyone's victory as teams give their best effort to win the league and earn the right to advance to the provincial Junior C Schmaltz Cup playoffs.

The winner of the North Carruthers Division will go on to meet the winner of the North Pollock Division in the provincial quarter-finals.