Top three teams pulling away in North Pollock Division, Ironmen remain in fourth

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

After a two-win weekend to begin the month of December, the Wingham Ironmen lost both of their games this past weekend, scoring just one goal to their opponents’ nine.

 

Friday, Dec. 13 was truly unlucky for the Ironmen, who welcomed the Kincardine Bulldogs to Wingham, only to lose by a score of 5-1. 

 

The Bulldogs opened the scoring with the only two goals scored in the first period. Trent Houghton found the back of the net at 16:26 of the period, assisted by Caeleb Bowler and Aidan Yarde. Then, 59 seconds later, Jordan Beisel scored again for the Bulldogs, assisted by Chad Lawrence and Jordan Moulton.

 

Tanner Dietz opened the second period with the only Ironmen goal of the game at 5:53 of the period, assisted by Micah Kraayenbrink and Carter Coates. After that, however, it was all Kincardine.

 

Chad Lawrence scored at 6:09 of the second period, assisted by Bryce Martin and Jordan Moulton, and then Carter Servais scored his 10th goal of the season at 19:38 of the second, assisted by Caeleb Bowler and Jordan Moulton on the power play.
Caeleb Bowler put the icing on the cake in the third period, assisted by Aidan Yarde and Trent Houghton at 12:39 to close the game out.

 

Rowen Cherrett won the game in the Kincardine net, stopping 26 of 27 shots, while James Hopper took the loss for the Ironmen, stopping 29 of the 34 shots he faced. It was a relatively clean game, with the Bulldogs only being whistled four times for eight minutes and the Ironmen being called five times for 10 minutes.

 

The next night, things were not nearly as joyful, as the Ironmen were in Walkerton to play the Capitals and both teams racked up a total of 52 penalty minutes, including several game misconducts for fighting. The Ironmen served 21 minutes on 11 infractions and the Capitals were in the box for 31 minutes on 12 calls.

 

The Capitals beat Wingham by a score of 4-0 with no scoring in the first period. It wasn’t until 12:25 of the second period that Chase Lorenz scored, assisted by Nathan Doran and Patrick Brown, followed by a goal by Brown at 18:01 of the second, assisted by Lorenz and Aiden Stanley.

 

Fifty-six seconds into the third period Owen Troyer scored on the power play, assisted by Patrick Brown and Chase Lorenz, followed by a shorthanded goal by Aiden Stanley at 14:09 of the third, assisted again by Brown, that ended the game.
Noah Ricci was in the Wingham net and stopped 29 of 33 shots for the loss, while Noah Lundgren earned the shutout win for the Capitals, stopping all 29 shots that came his way.

 

Not much has changed in the North Pollock Division standings in the Provincial Junior Hockey League, with the top three teams in a league of their own, leaving the rest of the division behind.

 

Things remain tight atop the division with just two points separating the top three teams. The Hanover Barons are in first with a record of 20 wins, one loss, one overtime loss and one shootout loss for a total of 42 points, followed by the Fergus Whalers with 41 points and a record of 19 wins, four losses, two overtime losses and one shootout loss and the Mount Forest Patriots with 40 points and a record of 19 wins, four losses, two overtime losses and two shootout wins.

 

Then, all the way down at 28 points, the Wingham Ironmen sit in fourth place with a record of 13 wins, 12 losses and two overtime losses. The Kincardine Bulldogs are in fifth place with 26 points and a record of 12 wins, 11 losses, two overtime losses and two shootout wins.

 

After another gulf in the standings, the Mitchell Hawks are in sixth place with 15 points and a record of six wins, 14 losses, two overtime losses, one shootout win and one shootout loss. The Walkerton Capitals are in seventh place with 13 points and a record of six wins, 18 losses, one overtime loss and one shootout win, followed by the last-place Goderich Flyers who have just four wins, 16 losses, one overtime loss and three shootout losses and 12 points.

 

The Ironmen were scheduled to play a make-up game on Wednesday, Dec. 18 with the Mount Forest Patriots on the road, but a score for that game was unavailable at press time. The team is then back in action again tonight, Friday, Dec. 20, in Wingham against the Mitchell Hawks. Then, on Sunday, Dec. 22, the Ironmen are in Fergus to play the Whalers in their last game of 2024.

 

The Ironmen begin 2025 with a game against the Mitchell Hawks on Friday, Jan. 3 and then a Sunday matinee with the Mount Forest Patriots at Sunday, Jan. 5, both in Wingham. The team then hosts the Walkerton Capitals on Friday, Jan. 10 for Wingham’s only game of the weekend.