It was a weekend chock full of
positives for the Owen Sound Jr. Attack Canadian Tire Tykes.
The Tykes not only snapped a three-game winless skid with consecutive victories, but welcomed back forward Curtis Duggan to the lineup.
Duggan, who had been sidelined since early September tryouts, made his season debut in Owen Sound’s 5-2 home win over the Essa Eagles on Saturday afternoon.
Ronan Helder notched a hat-trick and Brett Warrilow had one goal and two assists. Kashias Keeshig also scored for Owen Sound while netminder Myles Playter stood tall between the pipes for the win.
“I thought the kids did a good job out there today against a much-improved Essa team,” said Jr. Attack head coach Rob Martin, whose team had comfortably beaten the Eagles earlier this season by scores of 7-0 and 9-1. “Considering how hard the kids had battled the night before, and having a short bench, they played hard.”
Warrilow opened the scoring for Owen Sound only 43 seconds after the puck drop when his wide-angle wrist shot found the back of the net.
Helder then scored his first of three on the afternoon just over two minutes later when he broke in alone and tucked the puck between the legs of the Eagles goaltender.
Still in the first period, Helder provided Owen Sound with a 3-0 lead when he buried a shot high blocker for his second goal of the contest.
The Eagles would get on the board while on the power play in the late stages of the first period, before making it a one-goal game with 3:19 left in the second.
Keeshig quickly restored Owen Sound’s two-goal advantage, however, when he pounced on a loose puck during a scramble in front of the Essa net with less than two minutes remaining in the frame.
Helder rounded out the game scoring with his hat-trick tally at the 6:50 mark of the third period.
“We talked about keeping our feet moving and driving the net," Martin said, "and Ronan was a perfect example of that today."
In a chippy affair on Friday night in Flesherton, Warrilow scored five goals and added an assist to lead the Tykes to a hard-fought 6-4 road win over the Golden Hawks.
Keeshig also tallied for Owen Sound while Cody Cox contributed three assists and Nate Oniszeczko chipped in with one.
“It was a good win for us,” said Martin. “Overall, the coaching staff was proud of how the kids battled for the puck and took their time and space away. It showed the kids if we play three solid periods of hockey we can compete with any team in the league.”
Noah Lundgren put forth a stellar performance in net to earn the win.
“Noah stood on his head and made a lot of saves in key situations,” said Martin.
The Canadian Tire Tykes (7-5-2) put their two-game win streak on the line when they visit the league-leading Dundalk Storm (9-1) on Monday. Game time is 7 p.m.