Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

The Shelburne Muskies went on the road over the weekend to take on the Minto 81's in Palmerston on Saturday, Dec. 13.

Minto was first to score, putting two pucks in the back of the Muskies' net in the first period.

Shelburne's Sean Caruso put the Muskies on the scoreboard at the 10:50 mark in the period.

The 81's took a 4-1 lead in the second period, scoring at just over a minute into the frame, then notching another just over four minutes later.

The Muskies had a good effort in the second half of the second period.

Shelburne forward Keith Palmer scored at the 12:27 mark in the period.

That was followed by another Muskies goal from Chris Webber.

A third, second-period Muskies goal came from Sean Caruso with 4:05 remaining in the period, to set up a 4-4 tie game with one period left to go.

Minto took a lead with two goals at the midway mark in the final period.

Shelburne's Kyle Burke scored with 3:35 left in the game, but that's all the Muskies could do for the game.

Minto wrapped it up with a final goal with 39 seconds left on the clock to win the game 7-5.

The recorded stats show that the Muskies had only 21 shots on net, compared to 51 for the 81's.

After the weekend, the Muskies are in the number seven spot in the North Conference Standings of the Ontario Elite Hockey League with a 3-10 record, including two overtime losses – good for eight points.

The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks are leading the conference with 10 points and a 10-1 record, including one overtime win and one overtime loss.

In second place, the Elmvale Harvesters have a 10-4 record, including one overtime win and one overtime loss.

The Durham Thundercats are in third place with 18 points, followed by the Ripley Wolves with 16 points.

The Muskies will be back on home ice at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex on Friday, Dec. 19, when they will host the Lucknow Lancers.

Game time is 8:30 p.m.