Kitchener Dutchmen captain Sean Kawalec shoots the puck in a game against the Elmira Sugar Kings earlier this season. (Photo by Censational Photography).

Kitchener’s Kawalec scores 40th in win over Stratford 

The Kitchener Dutchmen earned a huge win in their pursuit of second place in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Midwestern Conference on Tuesday, with their captain hitting a major milestone in the process. The Dutchies snuck past the Warriors, 3-2, and used the two points to take second place in the conference back from the Cambridge Redhawks, who stole it from them last weekend. 

Dutchies captain and leading scorer Sean Kawalec opened the scoring on a powerplay seven minutes into the game, scoring his 40th goal of the season in just his 43rd game. Malcolm McLeod answered for the Warriors on a powerplay of their own ten minutes later, and the game was knotted at one going into the second frame. 

The teams traded goals again in the second, with Cam Allan scoring early for Kitchener, assisted by Thomas Brown and Kole Scott, but Stratford scored shorthanded on Callan Christner’s 10th of the season. Stratford outshot Kitchener 27-25 through 40 minutes. 

In the third period, it was the Dutchmen carrying much of the play, and finally getting rewarded midway through the frame. Jeb Paulsen converted on another powerplay with just over 10 minutes to play, with assists going to Dawson Garcia and Kawalec. The helper gives Kawalec 79 points on the season adding to his new career high. Lucas Patton took it from there, stopping all six shots he faced in the third period and 31 of 33 in the game. Kitchener held on for the important victory. 

Kawalec now has the most goals in a Dutchmen season since Keli Grant scored 38 in Kitchener’s historic 2013-14 season, and is chasing his older brother, Adam, who put up 97 in 2015-16, for most Dutchmen points in a season in over 15 years. Kitchener will need him at his best down the stretch as the Dutchies look to hold off Cambridge for second place. Kitchener is now one point up on the Redhawks with each team having seven games remaining. Stratford misses a big opportunity to keep pace with Kitchener, falling four points back in fourth place with five games left to play.