COJHL season coming down to the wire for MoJacks
by Darryl Knight/The Scugog Standard

After netting three out of a possible four points last weekend against the Georgina Ice, the Port Perry MoJacks were looking to continue their momentum this week as the COJHL regular season winds down.
_First up for the MoJacks was a rare Tuesday (Jan. 24) night encounter in Little Britain.
_Despite their strong showings coming into the game, the MoJacks had no answer for the Merchants on this night as Little Britain cruised to a 6-2 win.
_Dakota Watson and Matt Paul both netted goals, with Corey Durward chipping in a pair of assists and Conner Shingler and Tyler Beer adding single helpers.
_Hope sprung eternal for the MoJacks, though, as they hosted the Uxbridge Bruins on Sunday (Jan. 29) night.
_Coming into the game, the MoJacks had owned The Battle of North Durham this season, winning six out of the seven games played between the rival clubs this year, including the past five in a row.
_A lifeless first period saw the MoJacks dominated by the Bruins, with the bulk of the action taking place deep within the MoJacks’ zone.
_The lone goal of the opening stanza was scored by hulking Bruins defenceman Brett Penrose, assisted by Steve Posteraro. The first period was played at a brisk pace, as neither side found themselves whistled for a penalty.
_The MoJacks emerged for the second period with renewed vigour and, early on, Durward was buzzing all around the ice while killing a penalty, stifling the Bruins’ offensive attack.
_The Bruins took a 2-0 lead just before the midway point of the second when Blake Ertel’s rebound popped back out to him. He didn’t make the same mistake twice, beating MoJacks goalie Graeme Goodfellow to give the Bruins the advantage.
_Shortly after Ertel’s goal, MoJacks captain Paul had a pair of great power play scoring chances foiled, first by the post and then by the pads of Bruins goalie Kristoff Lyons.
_The determination of the MoJacks paid off, though, and with just over seven minutes to play in the middle stanza, Kyle London scored a power play goal on a wrist shot from the slot, assisted by Durward and Bentley McCormack.
_That was the lone tally the MoJacks slipped by Lyons in the second, despite a renewed sense of urgency that saw Port Perry apply a great deal of pressure in the Bruins’ zone in the hopes of adding a tying goal as time ticked away in the frame.
_Just over seven minutes into the third, Steve Douitsis capitalized on sloppy play in the MoJacks’ zone and scored from a shot in the slot to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead.
_The line of ‘Stonecold’ Colten Dixon, Tyler Beer and Cory Finney continued to battle hard as the clock ticked down in the third and the MoJacks desperately attempted to claw their way back into the contest.
_A late penalty to Douitsis appeared to open the door for a comeback as MoJacks coach Corey Bricknell made the bold move of pulling Goodfellow in favour of an extra attacker with just over three minutes remaining.
_Despite a flurry of opportunities, newly acquired Bruin Rob Acton iced the game with a shorthanded empty net tally with just under two minutes to play. Mike Ramsey added another for Uxbridge as the Bruins rolled to a 5-1 win over Port Perry.
_Following the game, Bricknell was at a loss for words regarding the MoJacks performance against their arch rivals.
_“Uxbridge lit a fire at the end of the game with all their hooting and all that stuff, and that’s something that we’re going to put in the memory bank,” Bricknell said.
_With three games left, the MoJacks are very much in control of their play-off destiny as they continue to battle with the Clarington Eagles for third place, which according to Bricknell is just fine with his squad, although work is still needed on the team’s defensive strategy.
_“We want to be in third and have home ice advantage for the mini-series,” Bricknell told The Standard. “The bottom line is that in our end we’ve gotta quit doing circles and be more responsible.”

Loose pucks...
-Newly acquired Mojacks defenceman Brandon Basler served the last of his four-game suspension (earned with the Uxbridge Bruins) on Sunday night and will make his MoJacks debut this week.
“Basler is a huge addition to our back end,” said Coach Cory Bricknell. “We feel like he rounds out a solid group back there and gives us great depth with the play-offs approaching.”
- Matt Murray has slipped to second place in the COJHL scoring race. With three games remaining, the 20-year-old Port Perry native has 53 points (29 goals and 29 assists) leaving him four points behind COJHL scoring leader Kyle Sullivan of the Lakefield Chiefs.
- It’s a busy week for the MoJacks as the team heads to Lakefield on Tuesday, Jan. 31 (after our deadline), before closing out the campaign with a Saturday (Feb. 4) night tilt in Little Britain at 7:30 p.m. and a 1:30 p.m. matinee at Scugog Arena on Sunday, Feb. 5, against the Clarington Eagles.