Shelburne Muskies season underway in the Ontario Elite Hockey League

Written By Chris Perrotte

The Shelburne Muskies played against the Lucknow Lancers in their home opener at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex (CDRC) on Saturday, Oct. 17.

The Ontario Elite Hockey League season is underway, and the Muskies started their season 0-2 on the road against the Durham Thundercats and Ripley Wolves. With losses to start the season, the Muskies were looking to turn their fortunes around for their first home game.

“There's a lot of new guys in the [locker] room, and I think we are all trying to gel together. Obviously, we're trying to get our legs back. Hopefully we can get back into the win column tonight. It's a winnable game. The last two games we played were against the top two teams, so it was a little bit tougher,” said Daniel Tonon, the backup goalie for the Muskies, ahead of Saturday's game.

There was excitement in the air as fans came out to the CDRC to support their Shelburne team. During the game, a group of young boys could be heard cheering, banging on the glass, showing support for the Muskies. One of those boys was Colton Lein, who was glad to see the Muskies play.

“It's very nice to see them playing again. I kind of miss not watching them over the summer. I'm very excited. It seems like this is going to be a very good game,” said Lein. 

Jennifer Tupling, an aunt to number seven Aaron McGuirk of the Muskies, is also happy to see the team back at home and to see the crowd support.

“I think it's great that Shelburne comes out and supports their home team and it's going to be an amazing year,” said Tupling. 

Shelburne Muskies play against Erin Outlaws

The Shelburne Muskies are still winless in the 2026-2027 campaign after dropping a 7-3 decision to the visiting Erin Outlaws on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex.

The Muskies got off to the start they wanted by scoring first with just under two minutes into the game. The goal came from Muskies Captain Corey Allen, his second of the season. The Outlaws answered back with three straight goals to give them a 3-1 lead. Jesse Gatt scored for the Muskies to pull them within one, however, Erin's Giancarlo Caranci restored the two-goal lead with about four minutes left in period one. 

“I think what happened was we came out the gate hot, going up right away with a goal by the third shift,” said Allen. “Then, [we had] simple breakdowns and lack of communication in the D-zone, along with some turnovers on pucks that should've went over the redline to a dump and pressure. Again, we've got some new guys in the lineup still looking for chemistry.”

In the second period, the Outlaws added to their lead by scoring two more goals to make it 6-2. The Muskies responded on the power play with a goal from Aaron McGuirk, his first of the season. That's as close as Shelburne got for the night, with the Outlaws scoring one more, resulting in the Muskies' fourth straight loss.

“Four games in, we just have to work on buying in, developing, improving our power play, and understanding our roles. It's little games inside the game that we have to improve on. We dropped this game and last game, but we were in both. Sometimes you just don't get the puck luck or bounces,” said Allen. “But we've got a good coaching staff in Ryan Harnett, Gord Cawker, and Rob Kirby, that will help us find ways to play a full 60 minutes and get the job done.”

Head coach Ryan Harnett also chipped in with his analysis of the game and the Muskies' season start.

“This is the second season for the Muskies' return, and it is going to take some time to be more competitive in this league. Collectively, we have been working together to execute team systems. Unfortunately, we got away from that on Saturday night, and obviously we did not get the result we were looking for,” said Harnett. “With a 0-4 start, we need to defend our defensive zone better and not give up odd-man rushes. We will continue to work on the adjustment in practice, and try to get better everyday.”

Shelburne's next game is at home Friday, Oct. 30 at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex versus the visiting Durham Thundercats. The game starts at 8:30 p.m.