The McLean and Dickey Orillia Terriers took control of their second-round playoff series on Wednesday night, securing a 3-1 victory over the Stayner Siskins in Game 3 at Rotary Place.
The win gives the Terriers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) showdown against their long-time rivals.
After a scoreless opening 15 minutes, where both goaltenders — Orillia’s Nathan Hunter and Stayner’s Nathan Boudreau — stood tall, the Terriers broke through late in the first period. Forward Finn Price got the hometown crowd buzzing when he batted his own rebound out of mid-air for his fourth goal of the postseason.
“The puck went off the net and up in the air, I saw it come below the crossbar and I gave it a whack and it went in,” Price said after the game. “It got the boys going.”
Less than two minutes later, Orillia capitalized on a power play after Stayner’s William Muszynski was sent off for slashing Terriers’ captain Dylan Palomaki. Price struck again, finishing a perfectly executed cross-crease pass from defenceman Tyler Kelly to double the lead.
“I saw T.K. got the puck there, so I opened up for the one-timer and it went in,” Price said. “After I scored those two, the boys were flying, so I think it helped us a lot.”
Stayner responded early in the second when Avery McNamara stunned the Terriers with an unassisted goal from just inside the blue line, cutting the lead to 2-1.
But Orillia had an answer. Less than two minutes later, PJHL MVP Jordan Fuller delivered the game-winner, ripping a wrist shot bar-down for his third goal of the playoffs.
“From our goalie out, we all played good,” Fuller said. “Forwards were buzzing, and Kelly made a good pass on that goal. I just found the seam and ripped it through.”
The game remained tight, with both teams generating chances, but Hunter and the Terriers’ defence locked things down the rest of the way. Orillia out-shot Stayner 41-30, controlling much of the pace throughout the game.
The victory was not just a statement win for the Terriers — it was another step toward a potential historic breakthrough. The franchise has never advanced past the second round of the PJHL playoffs, but this team believes this could be the year.
“I thought we started off right out of the gates pretty well,” Palomaki said. “We played a very sound defensive game and transitioned that to the neutral zone and the offensive zone. We scored early and kept riding that momentum.”
As for the pressure of making history, Palomaki says it’s not pressure — it’s an expectation.
“We know we’re a good team and we want to be there at the end of the playoffs,” the captain added. “If we're going to go on a good run, this is the year for us to do it."
The Terriers now shift their focus to Game 4 on Thursday night in Stayner, where they will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Game 5 is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. back in Orillia.
For now, though, the Terriers are enjoying the momentum of a critical Game 3 win.
“It’s amazing to go up 2-1,” Fuller said. “It’s a big rivalry — they’ve won a couple of years in a row against Orillia — so hopefully we can just carry this momentum into tomorrow.”