The Mclean & Dickey Orillia Terriers couldn’t complete another stunner against the Alliston Hornets, falling 3-2 in a chippy and emotional Game 2 of the North Carruthers Division final.
With the win on Saturday night at Rotary Place in west Orillia, the Hornets evened the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.
One night after the Terriers blanked the powerhouse Hornets 3-0 on the road — handing them their first regulation loss of the season — Game 2 turned into a gritty battle filled with physicality, controversy, and momentum swings in front of a record crowd of 951 at Rotary Place, the largest in the Jr. C club's history.
The game opened with a shock to the home side, as the Terriers gave the puck away on a power play and paid dearly.
Just over five minutes in, Alliston forward Aiden Landers picked off a miscue and buried a shorthanded goal, stunning the crowd and delivering a gut-punch to Orillia’s early momentum.
But the Terriers responded quickly. On another man advantage less than two minutes later, captain Dylan Palomaki walked into the slot and fired a wrist shot. Forward Devon Edmonds battled in front and tucked in the rebound to tie the game 1-1.
“I was just in front of the net and saw the loose puck and swatted at it,” Edmonds said post-game. “It was huge. It was nice going into the second period tied.”
Palomaki credited his teammates for creating the lane for him to fire the shot, causing chaos in the Hornets' crease.
“It was a good play by the boys there, getting the puck up to me on the point,” he said. “(Evan) Gliddon dragged two guys toward him and fed it back. Devo did the rest.”
The Hornets appeared to retake the lead late in the first period, but a goal was called back when Terriers' goalie Reid Thomas knocked the net off its moorings.
In the second period, the Terriers ran into penalty trouble, and Alliston took advantage. Just a minute into the frame, Hornets captain Jaeden French jabbed home a rebound to make it 2-1.
Alliston dictated the pace for most of the second, keeping Orillia chasing the puck. The Terriers were lucky to escape the period down just one.
Orillia came out firing in the third, and it didn’t take long for the Provincial Junior Hockey League's MVP to make an impact. Just 46 seconds into the period, Jordan Fuller ripped a wrist shot from the hash marks for his eighth goal of the postseason, tying the game at two.
“We knew we didn’t work up to our potential in the second,” Fuller said. “We came out, I got a lucky bounce, tied the game — it gave us some momentum."
The momentum was short-lived. Two minutes later, Alliston forward Mark Coish crashed the net and jammed home a rebound from a Cole Turcotte shot to put the visitors back on top.
The final minutes of the game saw the Terriers pushing hard. Fuller, a target all night for the Hornets’ defence, was cross-checked repeatedly in front of the net before he unleashed the game’s biggest hit along the glass.
“We were just battling in front, me and (Turcotte)," Fuller said. “He kept giving it to me, I gave it back. Then I saw their guy on the wall, I saw he didn’t see me coming, and I finished my check.”
With the clock winding down, and only two minutes remaining in the third period, the Terriers thought they had tied the game.
Defenceman Evan Gliddon fired a shot from the blue line, and Palomaki tipped it past Hornets' goalie Owen Butler. The crowd erupted — briefly.
Two seconds later, referee Travis Ford waved the goal off, calling a high stick. The Terriers' fans were furious, showering the ice with boos.
“I got a stick on it. It was called over the crossbar," Palomaki said. "I thought it was the wrong call, but there's nothing we can do about it."
Fuller, battling in front during the play, admits he didn’t have a clear view.
“I just put my hands in the air when it went in,” he said. “It's a bad bounce, but we’re going to get those in the playoffs.”
The Hornets out-shot the Terriers 36-23 in the win. Despite the controversial ending, the Terriers are staying focused with the series now tied 1-1.
“You can’t dwell on it,” Palomaki said. “It’s a long playoff series — you’re not going to win every game. We just have to bounce back and come out even harder on Monday.”
Game 3 is set for Monday night in Alliston, while the series returns to Orillia for Game 4 on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.