Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

The Shelburne Senior Muskies can get out the golf clubs after taking a loss in game six of their best-of-seven playoff series against the Minto 81's on Sunday (Feb. 23) in Palmerston.

It was the end of a very successful season for the Muskies.

The Shelburne team finished in second place in the regular season with a 17 – 5 record and 34 points.

They had a winning season on home ice providing fans with a lot of exciting games and wins at the CDRC.

It was a highly competitive season with the top five teams separated by only six points.

The Ripley Wolves finished in first place with 38 points. Behind the the Muskies, Saugeen Shores, Clinton, and Seaforth all tied with 32 points for the season.

Going into the playoffs the Muskies were matched up with Minto in the first round.

Game one of the series ended with a 5 -2 loss for the Muskies.

Game two saw a 6-2 loss that put the pressure on the Shelburne team to give a big response in game three.

A 3-2 win in game three put the Muskies back in the running.

The Muskie were behind the eight-ball after taking a 4 -2 loss in game four in Palmerston to trail 3 -1 in the series.

Returning to Shelburne for game five on February 22, the squad pulled off a 6 -3 win and geared up for game six in Palmerston in Sunday night.

In the final game the Muskies were first on the scoreboard on a goal from Trevor VanAlstine.

Minto tied it up with four minutes left in the second period, then went ahead 2 – 1.

With 2:33 left in the third period, it was tied up when Josh Sguigna scored.

Neither team could break the tie and the game went into overtime.

The first OT period produced no results and the teams returned for a second grueling period of overtime.

The 81's scored to end the game 3 – 2.

The Minto team will now continue on to the next round of playoffs.