Barry’s Bay Bulls hand Calver second straight loss

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

nor Moss of the Loggers in the slot.

Eganville

– After starting off the 2021/2022 Eganville Hockey League (EHL) schedule with six straight wins, the defending champion Calver Lumber team heads into the Christmas holiday break winless in their last two games.

On Friday night, the Barry’s Bay Bulls posted their third win of the season by edging Calver 3-2 in a fast-paced, tight-checking, physical contest. Things looked good for Calver in the early going as the Pembroke team jumped out to an early lead just 30 seconds into the game. They dumped the puck into the Bulls end off the opening face-off and created a turnover that left Scott Conroy alone in front to tuck the rubber past goaltender Richard Barr. It was Conroy’s first game with the team this year and he quickly made his presence known.

The Bulls evened the score midway through the period as Scott Bromley fed a perfect pass to Brandon Cashubec who tipped it by Calver goalie Josh Vandenbarr to knot the game. Then, with just 31 seconds remaining in the opening period, the Bulls took the lead as Bailey Hein forced a turnover in the Calver zone, feeding the loose puck to Bromley. The big forward waited for Vandenbarr to go down before firing a hard wrister into the top of the net for a 2-1 lead.

The teams traded chances in the early going in the second, with Barr and Vandenbarr rejecting everything that came their way. With 2:10 to go, Calver got the tying goal from veteran Steve Gilchrist who tipped a Nathan Anderson pass by Barr.

Early in the third, the Bulls lost Bromley with a separated shoulder as he got tangled up with a Calver player and fell to the ice. He struggled to get to his feet, obviously unable to move his right arm. He went directly to the dressing room and was later transported via ambulance to hospital where doctors re-set the injured limb.

Despite losing one of their top offensive weapons, the Bulls persevered, retaking the lead with 3:22 to go in the third with newcomer Dylan Kuehl finding the top shelf behind Barr from the slot. Kuehl made his debut with the team on Friday, and also made an immediate impression. Calver lifted their goalie with 1:26 to play and pressed for the tying goal, with Barr making a big save on Conroy with 30 seconds to play to seal the win. There were 18 penalties handed out in the chippiest affair of the season, with 11 penalties assessed to Calvers In other EHL action, the Whitewater Brewery team moved into sole pos- session of third spot by doubling the W.M. Miller Loggers 4-2. It was Whitewater’s third win in the past four games and the Loggers’ fifth loss in their last six games.

The Loggers capitalized on some bad luck for the Brewery team early as a Braedon Yakabuskie pass bounced off a player and went directly to Con-

Moss wasted no time firing it by an unsuspecting Ryan Donohue for a 1-0 lead 37 seconds into the contest.

Yakabuskie got that one back for his team midway through the frame as he buried the rebound of his initial shot past Randy Chafer in the Loggers’ net to tie the score.

The second period featured great end to end action with neither team able to beat the respective goalies.

Whitewater took its first lead of the night 3:19 into the third as Blake Borutski cut through the slot and fired a shot past Chafer as he slid across his net. Brendan Hennessy stretched the lead to 3-1 a minute later as he buried the rebound of a Yakabuskie shot into the twine. The Loggers drew within one of the lead with 4:43 to go as Bradley Borutski tipped a Moss feed past Donohue to make the count 3-2.

Whitewater sealed the win on a goal by Kaelan Parker who was awarded the goal after he was hauled down while heading in on the empty net by a Loggers player to make the final 4-2.

Whitewater had three of the five penalties handed out in the game.

The EHL is now entering its holiday break, with the schedule resuming on January 7, when Calver meets the Loggers at 7 and the Bulls battle Whitewater at 8.

Matthew Kennedy of the Loggers carries the puck into the Whitewater zone during Eganville Hockey League action Friday. Whitewater doubled the Loggers by a 4-2 score.