The McLean and Dickey Orillia Terriers skated back into the winner’s circle Saturday night.
After back-to-back 7-1 defeats, six days apart, to the North Carruthers Division top two teams — Alliston and Stayner — the Terriers bounced back with a 7-4 win over Innisil.
The Terriers jumped out to a fast start at Brian Orser Arena, scoring three goals in just over six minutes to take a 3-0 lead after the first period.
But the second period was not a good one for the Terriers as the Spartans, in their inaugural season in the Provincial Junior Hockey League, rallied to score three goals, closing the gap to 4-3.
However, a late second-period goal from Lucas Wessinger gave the Terriers some breathing room as they went into the final frame with a 5-3 lead.
Orillia was strong in the third, scoring two goals before the period was 12 minutes old as they earned the much-needed triumph.
Leading scorer Josh Brown again led the way, scoring a pair of goals, while singles were tallied by Mason Beck, Ty Snelleman, Jayden Murison, Colton Dumond and Wessinger.
The Terriers outshot the Spartans 44-39 in the contest; Reed Spinola stopped 35 shots to pick up the win for the home side in front of 177 fans at the Gill Street rink.
With the victory, the Terriers improve to 10-6-0-1 and sit in fourth place in the nine-team North Carruthers Division.
With the loss, Innisfil falls to 10-10.
The Terriers next see action Thursday when they travel to Stayner (16-1-0) to take on the first-place Siskins.
The Terriers return home to Brian Orser Arena Saturday night where they will clash with second-place Alliston (14-3-1) in a 7:30 p.m. contest.
