Waterloo Siskins forward Owen Lane looks to finish an opportunity against Cambridge Redhawks goalie Reagan Gies. (FS Fotos)

Stretch drive begins for local teams as GOJHL playoffs loom

Nothing seems guaranteed this year in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League's Midwestern Conference, as the top five teams are separated by just 10 points. As the calendar turned to 2019, the local GOJHL teams began their playoff push toward the pursuit of a Cherry Cup and beyond. 

The Waterloo Siskins held ground this weekend as the best in the Midwest, beating the Brampton Bombers in both ends of a home-and-home, 6-4 and 8-2. Alex Lycett was excellent in both games for Waterloo, combining for four goals and two assists. Waterloo will visit Cambridge on Saturday night. Two points back of Waterloo sit Listowel, which also enjoyed a dominating weekend. The Cycs dropped Elmira at home on Friday night, 5-1, before crushing the Warriors in Stratford on Sunday, 6-1. Holdyn Lansink extended his Midwest points lead with three over the weekend, giving him 71 points on the year. Stratford's loss to Listowel was a big one as the Warriors are three points behind the Cyclones, after beating Brantford, 7-3, before losing on Sunday. Ryan Cullen had a hat-trick for Stratford on Friday night. In fourth place is Elmira, who has struggled of late to fall behind in the pursuit of first. The Sugar Kings only managed to earn one out of a possible four points this weekend, falling in Listowel on Friday before tying the lowly 99ers on Sunday, 3-3. The Kitchener Dutchmen gained ground on Elmira late in 2018 and continued that trend in the first weekend of 2019, beating Cambridge 5-3 in their lone game. The Redhawks, meanwhile, trail behind in sixth place after beating Brantford, 5-3, then losing to Kitchener by the same score. Brantford and Brampton round out the Midwest at seventh and eighth, respectively. 

Play will resume on Friday night with a total of eight Midwest contests going next weekend. Each weekend could bring a new logo atop the standings, and with under 20 games remaining, every point counts.