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Sailors set for deep sail in to
playoffs
OT loss in final regular season game denies Port Stanley first in Yeck division
February 18, 2024
By Rob J. Ross
PORT STANLEY - It was the game to decide first place in the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) Yeck Division.
Unfortunately for the Port Stanley Sailors, the Petrolia Flyers nabbed top spot, with a 3-2 overtime win Saturday, February 15.
With Exeter beating Lucan in the final regular season game Feb. 17, Port Stanley finishes third and will take on the Thamesford Trojans in the first round of the Yeck playoffs.
"We really wanted it, but it didn't go our way," said Sailors head coach Matt Bowes. "That's hockey. Sometimes the bounces don't go your way. Sometimes the calls don't go your way. You can't focus on that. You got to keep going and I felt our boys were dialed and focused the whole night."
Port led 2-0 briefly in the second period, with goals from Rowan Aljoe and Tyson Benwell, before Petrolia got on the score board. The Flyers tied the game with six minutes remaining in the third.
Sam Taylor had a glorious opportunity to give Port the win, but the puck escaped Taylor inches from the goal line.
Less than a minute later, a giveaway in the Sailors' end allowed Ethan Flintoff to end the game in Petrolia's favour.
Port Stanley does finish with a franchise record for most wins in a season with 26, owners of a 26-11-4-0-0-1 for 57 points.
"It's a lot of new guys on the team this year and it took some time to get things dialed in," Bowes said. "Once we figured out how we needed to play and the guys got comfortable playing the way that we need to play to win, we took off.
Only two wins in five games in September, the Sailors won four games in a row in October to be above .500. Then Port was 7-2-0 in November, winning six consecutive games.
"We went on a long win streak and we were getting offence from all four lines and from our back end," Bowes said. "When you see that happening, you know. The compete has been there all year."
Captain Jordan Medeiros has enjoyed the meshing of veterans and rookies, to create a contender for the Yeck title.
"We worked with a lot of new guys this year, probably 12. A lot of rookies. We have older guys, so we had quite the gel of teammates early on," Medeiros said. "We got a lot of bonding in, so we could all work well on the ice. Then we found our stride."
In his fourth season with the Sailors, Medeiros remembers being at the bottom of the standings.
"First year I got here, we had six wins," recalls Medeiros. "Then we slowly got better each year. Now we're sitting with the franchise record. It's a good feeling."
Familiarity has aided team bonding, with many Sailors having also played minor hockey together before arriving in the Lake Erie harbour town.
"How close we are really helps," Medeiros said. "Most of us grew up playing together. We have the older group of guys and then the younger guys all played together too. We have guys all fighting for each other out there and that's what really does it for us."
Calling this team a family, is not just a cliche. There are family members on the team, like the Watson brothers, Dylan and Dawson.
Dylan Watson led the Sailors with 24 goals and 48 points. Clark Sandham had a team high 27 assists and finished third in points with 43. Liam Kidder has 22 goals and 23 assists, Medeiros, 10 goals, 30 assists and Owen Murree, 12 goals and 27 assists, are players averaging a point per game or more.
Dawson Watson, one of the rookies, led the D-core with 35 points and had a team high 13 power play assists.
Third in the Yeck, the Sailors were second in offence behind Petrolia and second in goals-against, behind Exeter.
"Our ultimate goal is to win the Yeck division and we still have that in front of us," said Bowes. "We have to keep playing together. It's not an individual mission out there. If we play smart, physical and shoot the puck like we can, we can beat any team."
The best of seven divisional quarterfinal starts Saturday, Feb 22 at Port.
Petrolia will be the top seed for the Yeck playoffs and will play Lucan in the first round.
Exeter takes on the Aylmer Spitfires and North Middlesex clashes with Mt Brydges.
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