Mounties pick up back-to-back wins!

With George Le Gresly

In last week’s report, we noted that if the Paris Mounties continued to spend time killing off penalties at the rate they did the previous three games, that any chance of success would be small. This weekend they lowered the time they had to play a man short in each game and played a consistent style of hockey that they have been coached to play, with lots of evidence that the players communicated with each other on the ice. What resulted was two back-to-back wins as the team double its season points.

Let’s start with last Saturday’s home game against the second place and potential first round playoff match-up, the Wellesley Applejacks. Wellesley has beaten the Mounties all five of their previous games by a combined total of 34-6, a statistic that on a betting site would make your home team the overwhelming underdog! This night was different, as the Mounties only had to play shorthanded twice, had steady goaltending from Nick Barker stopping 38 shots and earning his first win of the season, and two goals by Aiden Switzer and a goal each from Bhrett Hibbert and Sam Collins Final score Mounties 4 Applejacks 2

Next stop was a Sunday afternoon visit to Hespeler for a game against the Shamrocks, who were just 4 points ahead of the Mounties. Hespeler opened up the first period scoring, followed by a Mounties goal by Tye Wetzel and assisted by Grant Eastwood. The second period was all about Paris goal scoring with Owen Switzer scoring one and Wil Curwen scoring two goals. At the end of the second period, it was Mounties 4 and Hespeler 1. In the third, the Mounties’ Tyler Hill-Griffeon scored the only goal to make the final score Paris 5 Hespeler 1, with goalie Nick Barber getting his second ‘W’ of the season.

What was most impressive this weekend was disciplined play with fewer penalties and the number of players, a total of 12, involved in scoring Kudos go out to Grant Eastwood, Aiden Switzer and Xavier Moura for a point weekend and Wil Curwen for a 3-point weekend.

Next game will be at the Brant Sports Complex tonight against the first place New Hamburg Firebirds. Puck drop is at 7:30 pm.