The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks shrugged off one that got away.
The Winterhawks rebounded from a disappointing home result on Friday and put in a solid road effort to defeat the Durham Thundercats 8-4 on Saturday.
Justin Marlowe got the Winterhawks on the board late in the first period when Caleb Morrison took a shot from the side boards that was stopped in front by Durham netminder Brendon Landry.
The rebound went right onto the stick of Marlowe, who slammed the puck past Landry to make it a 1-0 game. Luke Pither also assisted on the goal.
Durham answered back with a goal of their own and it was a 1-1 game after one period.
The Winterhawks red-hot power play got the lead back five minutes into the second period. Brent MacDermid took control of the puck on the wall, and put a shot on net through traffic. Andy Fracz took a whack at the rebound and was stopped, but the next rebound went to Pither, who buried it.
Durham again answered and tied the game at 2-2 minutes later.
The Winterhawks got back on the power play, but it was Durham who struck on a shorthanded marker to give the home side a brief 3-2 lead.
The shorthanded goal was atoned for on the same power play when Josh Deyell took a good ol’ fashioned slap shot from the point that was tipped in by Curtis Johnston to knot the game at 3-3.
Andy Mitchell put the Winterhawks ahead at 13:06 when he took a sharp-angle shot from the corner that snuck between Landry’s pad and the post. Johnston picked up an assist on the go-ahead goal.
Pither put the Winterhawks up two at 16:58 when Mike Fiegehen put a shot on net off the rush, and Pither again cleaned up the rebound to make it a 5-3 lead from Fiegehen and Josh Urbshott.
The Winterhawks gave the Thundercats no hope of a comeback, pouring it on early in the third period.
Mitchell’s second of the night came shorthanded at 3:55 when a shot off the rush evaded Landry’s glove to make it a 6-3 game.
The Winterhawks power play again showed its might, as Johnston turned it into a rout with his second of the night at 6:58 when Mitchell picked up the puck behind the net and found Johnston alone in the slot to make it a 7-3 game.
Needing four to get back in the game, Durham pulled the goalie with 12 minutes remaining in regulation, giving Pither an opportunity to complete the hat-trick at 8:55 when he hit the wide open cage from centre ice.
Durham added one more late in the third, but it was academic at that point, and the Winterhawks cruised to the 8-4 victory in enemy territory.
Clayton Fritsch picked up the win in the Winterhawks net.
The Winterhawks return to the ice for a pair of games next weekend, starting at home on Friday night, November 1st, when the Milverton 4-Wheel Drives visit The Plex at 8:30 p.m. Game sponsor is Bruce Telecom.
