Golden Hawks rally to sweep Muskies

Eric Carriere -Toussaint / OJHL Images

The Trenton Golden Hawks had to battle back to finish the job Friday night.

After falling behind early, Trenton rallied for a 4–2 win over the Lindsay Muskies to complete their first-round sweep.

Despite missing several all-stars from the lineup, the Golden Hawks still found a way to close things out and now advance to the second round, where they will wait their opponent.

“The resiliency of the group was key in the series against Lindsay,” said Golden Hawks head coach Derek Smith. “There are a lot of emotions in playoff hockey and momentum swings, but the guys were able to manage the ups and downs.”

Trenton, the defending Buckland Cup champions, did not record a sweep during last year’s playoff run to the title.

“Lindsay had a great series,” Smith said. “Every game was tough from start to finish, so to get the series finished in four was huge.”

In front of a crowd of 423 at the Lindsay Recreation Complex, Braxton Meyers opened the scoring before Ajay Rai extended their advantage, to give the Muskies a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.

The Golden Hawks began to push back in the second period, and Lindsay’s penalty trouble opened the door.

Regular-season goal-scoring champion Jack Ziliotto got Trenton on the board just past the midway point of the frame.

Lucas Digiantommaso drew the lone assist. The overage forward leads the team in postseason scoring with eight points.

Early in the third period, Jamie Darlison tied the game on the man advantage after the Muskies were assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The goal came a day after the Whitby native announced his USports commitment to Ontario Tech University.

Less than a minute later, Josh Penney completed the comeback, scoring to give Trenton its first lead of the night.

“The guys stayed patient, didn’t panic and chipped away,” Smith said. “We stuck with the process.”

Tempers flared shortly after the ensuing faceoff, leading to multiple fighting majors.

With another power play opportunity, captain Thomas Kuipers insured the win with a goal on the man advantage.

The Golden Hawks’ special teams proved to be the difference, finishing 3-for-7 on the power play while their penalty kill was perfect.

“I thought five-on-five we had a solid series, but our special teams got better as it went on,” Smith said. “In Game 4, we had timely power-play goals, and going five-for-five on the penalty kill in an elimination game is a great recipe.”

Colten Drillen-Roach made his first appearance of the postseason, turning aside 37 shots in the win.

“Jeffery was great the first three games and gave us timely saves when we needed them,” Smith said. “Then Roachy stepped in for Game 4 and bought us some time to get rolling as a team. This time of year everyone is going to be relied on, and having confidence in two great goalies is great for our group.”

Trenton was without OJHL scoring leader Taeo Artichuk, defenceman Andrew Wysick and goaltender Hayden Jeffery. With Logan Bennett still out of the lineup, Mason Musclow made his OJHL playoff debut.

Despite the sweep, Smith says the team is focused on continuing to improve as they head into the next round.

“This was a lot of guys’ first chance at playoff hockey,” he said. “We just need to keep building as a team, tune up some details and continue to grow as a group. We know it gets harder every game and every series, but we’re excited about where we are.”