the Navy Vets had set up a "party" at Southwood Arena on Friday night ... and a party it was !!!
the Vets were hoping for over 500 fans ... they got double that ... when 1000 fans showed up to cheer on the team as they surpassed the 10000 mark in regular season attendance becoming only the 3rd team in OHA JrC since the early 2000s to reach that mark !!!
the large crowd was treated to great evening of fun .... with plenty of prize giveaways ... a special pre-game ceremony honouring 3 overaged players in their last junior season with the Navy Vets ... and ultimately the team made it a memorable night with a big 7-1 win over the Paris Mounties ....
the win was the clubs' 29th of the season ... and it keeps them alive in a battle with Tavistock for a 2nd place finish ...
Tavistock lost in OT at home to Ayr as the Centennials clinched 1st place ... and that now sets up a scenario where the Vets need to win their final game on Saturday night in New Hamburg and hope that Tavistock loses it's final game in Wellesley also on Saturday night in order for the Vets to finish in 2nd place ...
the 3 honoured players all played a big part in the victory ... Dylan Wettlaufer continued his torrid pace with another goal and assist (he now has 10 goals and 11 assists in 8 games in the month of January) , Austin Richardson had an assist , and goalie Mike Harrison made 32 saves for the win ...
Kurtis Christo led the Vets with 2 goals and an assist ... Kyle Walker with his 29th goal of the season , Justin Elms , Chris Nauts , and Justin Vandendool scored the other Vets goals ...
so the Navy Vets will finish their regular season schedule on Saturday night in New Hamburg ... looking for win number 30 which would be only the 4th time in franchise history that would be accomplished ...
the 1st Round Quarterfinals Playoff series will probably start next weekend at Southwood Arena ... but that will be finalized and announced after the weekend games are completed and the Vets opponent is decided ...
it has been a terrific season both on the ice and in the stands with the support of the community ... lets build on this momentum for a long playoff run !!!
the Navy Vets scored 3 goals in the 2nd period to break open the game and go on to a 7-1 win in New Hamburg on Saturday night ...
but a Tavistock win in Wellesley also on Saturday night means the Vets will finish in 3rd place ...
the win was their 30th of the season ... only the 4th time in franchise history they have ever reached that mark !!!
the team will finish 3rd for the 1st time since 2009-10 when they were known as the Renegades ... but that was in a 6-team Niagara West Division ...
the Vets also scored an even 200 goals in the regular season ... the 1st time they have scored that many since 1996-97 ...
Austin Richardson, Troy Vandenbussche, Warren Gorman, Matt Zilke, Jared Prekup, and Austin Sine scored the Vets goals ...
Dylan Wettlaufer got 2 assists to have a red-hot month of January finishing with a 7-game point streak and scoring 10 goals while recording 13 assists ...
Keaghan Brett recorded his 19th win in the Vets net making 47 saves ...
the 3rd place finish by the Navy Vets means they will now face 6th place Norwich in a "Battle of Highway 59" Quarterfinals series ... the schedule will be announced soon ...
