Pat Payton
Sports Editor
Stratford Cullitons picked up three of a possible six points this past weekend.
But more importantly, Cullitons might have sent a loud message to Midwestern Conference rivals Listowel Cyclones and Cambridge Winterhawks: that they’re going to be formidable opponents in late February-early March.
The Tribe will likely meet one of those two teams in the opening round of playoffs.
On Sunday night at the Allman Arena, Cullitons battled the Cyclones from start to finish but had to settle for a single point when Listowel claimed a 3-2 win in a wild shootout in front of just over 600 fans.
Just 24 hours earlier, the Tribe scored three unanswered third-period goals to pull out a come-from-behind 7-5 victory over Cambridge at the Galt Arena Gardens.
‘We’re not going to roll over’
“In the last two nights, I think we showed Listowel and Cambridge that we’re not going to roll over,” said Jason Lott, Stratford’s director of hockey operations.
“These new guys like Shayne Rhyno, Nik Knezic, Brock Reynolds and Devon Weller compete real hard. Once we get our lines set again, I think we’re going to be a real tough team to play against in the playoffs.”
Coach Phil Westman also liked his team’s work ethic this past weekend.
“We were quite happy with the way our team competed,” he said following Sunday’s game. “We got three of six points, but we were playing three teams ahead of us in the standings and it was also our third game in three nights.”
Following weekend action, Cullitons (17-22-1) sit alone in sixth place, one point behind Elmira Sugar Kings (16-17-4). Kings still have three games in hand.
Sunday’s win moved Cyclones (21-16-1) one point ahead of Cambridge and into third place.
On Friday night at the Allman Arena, Waterloo improved to 31-5 with a 3-2 victory over the Cullitons.
It was the Siskins’ 17th straight win, and 23rd in their last 24 games dating back to Oct. 17. It also improved Waterloo’s road record to 17-2 – best in the entire GOJHL.
Listowel 3 - Stratford 2
(Shootout)
On Sunday night at the Allman, 18 players were involved in the shootout before it was finally decided.
“We must have hit three or four crossbars,” Cullitons goalie coach Mark Nelson said.
Each team’s third shooter, Cyclones’ Bobby Cook and the Tribe’s Steve McParland, scored to send the shootout to sudden-death.
After goalies Cody Vinnai and Brock Hansell stopped five in a row, Ken Rolph finally gave the visitors the upperhand when he beat Vinnai with Listowel’s ninth shot. When Hansell stopped Knezic at the other end, it gave Cyclones their third win on Stratford ice this season.
Listowel’s Eric Deckers opened the scoring at 6:17 of the first period, but goals by Brad McClure (his 22nd) and Knezic gave Cullitons the lead by the end of 20 minutes. It was Knezic’s first goal since recently returning to the Tribe from the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs. McParland and Kurtis Bailey assisted on both tallies.
Rolph’s unassisted goal midway through the second period tied it 2-2.
“It was a real good game, and the overtime was really exciting,” Jason Lott said. “It was back and forth with two-on-ones and three-on-ones, and it could have gone either way.”
Overall, Cyclones out-shot the Cullitons 34-27. Cody Vinnai (6-11-1) took the loss.
It was the final regular-season meeting between the two teams, with Listowel winning five of the seven games.
Stratford 7 - Cambridge 5
At the Galt Gardens Saturday evening, Cullitons scored the final four goals of the game to pull out the comeback victory over the Winterhawks in front of about 600 fans.
“We had a real good third period,” coach Westman said. “I thought we dominated the game, but we just had a few bad minutes in the second period.”
The Tribe held early 2-0 and 3-1 leads, before the ‘Hawks scored four in a row in the middle frame – including a pair by Cody Hall – to go in front 5-3.
Centre Cohen Adair got Cullitons’ comeback started with a goal just before the end of the second stanza.
Brock Reynolds tied it 5-5 at 2:46 of the third, Adair fired what proved to be the winner at 8:27, and Reynolds completed his hat trick with just over five minutes to play.
Reynolds now has eight goals after being acquired by the Tribe from London in a November trade.
Captain Bucky Nelson drew assists on the winning and insurance goals, and finished the night with three helpers.
Defenceman Craig Dalrymple (his 14th on a powerplay) and Kurtis Bailey scored the other Stratford goals. Adair also had an assist for the three-point game, and veteran Kyle Roes chipped in a pair of helpers.
In addition to Hall’s two goals, Brook Albion, Tyler Luikkonen and Anthony Colizza also scored for Cambridge.
Overall, Cullitons out-shot the ‘Hawks 46-36. Cody Vinnai replaced starter Evan Groenestege after the second period and earned the net win.
It was the Tribe’s second consecutive victory over the Winterhawks, its second win on Cambridge ice this season, and it evens the season series 3-3 between the two teams.
Waterloo 3 - Stratford 2
At the Allman Friday night, Cullitons turned in another solid effort but failed to stop the Siskins’ lengthy winning streak.
“We competed real hard, and I saw a lot of positives,” Jason Lott said.
“We had defencemen Knezic and Weller in for their first games, and we were a lot steadier on our back end. We made better decisions and better passes,” he noted.
Siskins built narrow period leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on goals by Ryan Dilks (powerplay) and Scott Nagy (shorthanded). Defenceman Craig Dalrymple replied for Stratford on a powerplay at 5:43 of the middle frame, temporarily tying the score 1-1. Kyle Wilhelm and Brad McClure assisted.
Dilks’ 15th of the campaign at 11:52 of the third put the visitors ahead 3-1, and it stood up as the winner. Tony Blyde earned his second assist of the game on the goal.
With goalie Vinnai on the bench for an extra attacker, Brad McClure scored with 80 seconds left on the clock, but that’s as close as the Tribe would get. Nelson and McParland assisted.
Overall, Waterloo out-shot Stratford 38-31. For Vinnai, it was his first start since Dec. 16. After winning the first two meetings this season, Cullitons have now dropped four in a row to the Siskins.
Upcoming games: This weekend, Cullitons host Brantford (32-4-3) on Friday, before heading to Guelph Saturday to meet the seventh-place Hurricanes (12-23-4). Both contests start at 7:30 p.m.
