The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks won twice with authority over the weekend, in the process securing home ice advantage to open the playoffs.
The Winterhawks defeated the Lucknow Lancers on home ice on Friday night by a score of 6-2, following it up with a 7-2 victory in Elora on Saturday night.
Friday's regular season home finale started off without much flow, which could be excused as the Winterhawks faced off against the 13th-place Lancers.
Eric Peicheff made several saves early on in the Winterhawks net, while the 'Hawks tested Lucknow starter Branden Bean.
As the Winterhawks got into a rhythm, the chances came more frequently, and Jamie Shoemaker put the Winterhawks on the board at 11:16 of the 1st, snapping a wrist shot past Bean to make it 1-0.
James McHaig and Jay Thomson picked up assists on Shoemaker's marker.
A Lord Elgin Fish & Chips power play followed late in the period, and Josh Deyell fed a point shot through a crowd, which was tipped by Mike Rocca past Bean to make it 2-0, with Shoemaker also assisting.
The Winterhawks carried the 2-0 lead to the 2nd period, after outshooting Lucknow 9-8 in the opening frame.
Momentum continued to shift the Winterhawks way in the 2nd, with Theo Peckham springing Andy Mitchell on a breakaway, and Mitchell made no mistake, beating Bean to make it 3-0, with Josh Hopkin also assisting.
The Winterhawks dominated Lucknow in the 2nd period, outshooting the Lancers 15-6, but could only get the one puck past Bean, leaving the score 3-0 after two.
Little doubt was left as to the outcome of the game as the Winterhawks pulled away with authority early in the 3rd.
Connor Patton struck 1:15 into the 3rd, with assists to Greg Thede and Bryan Kazarian, followed by a shorthanded marker by Blake Underwood at 2:36, assisted by Peckham and Trent Hawke, giving the Winterhawks a 5-0 lead.
Lucknow erased Peicheff's shutout bid just moments later on the power play, as Tyler Ryan picked up a rebound at the side of the net for a tap-in to get Lucknow on the board.
Another Lucknow power play with just under three minutes to play made it a 5-2 game, but Underwood added one with 12-seconds remaining to make it a 6-2 final, with Matt Shields and Hawke assisting.
Peicheff made 17 saves in the Winterhawks net for the win, while the Winterhawks directed 32 shots on the Lucknow net.
Peckham picked up The Wismer House Player of the Game honours with two assists.
The Winterhawks picked up where they left off when the puck dropped in Elora on Saturday night, scoring early and often on an under-staffed Rocks squad.
Andy Mitchell opened the scoring just 43-seconds into the game, Lauchlin Elder and Connor Patton picked up assists as the Winterhawks grabbed the early 1-0 lead.
Not letting up, Blake Underwood scored his first of two on the night at 3:35 of the 1st, with Jay Thomson and Trevor Smith assisting.
Elora's Kevin Tuckey cut the Winterhawks lead to 2-1 at 16:06 of the 1st, but the Winterhawks answered right back 39-seconds later as Adam Kading made it 3-1, from Mike Rocca and Michael Johnstone.
The Winterhawks peppered Elora netminder Colin Dunne with 25 shots in the 1st, while Jeff Flagler made 11 saves in the Winterhawks net.
The second period was more even in the shots department, but the Winterhawks broke it open on the scoreboard, scoring a pair of goals.
Thomson extended the lead to 4-1 at the seven-minute mark, with assists to James McHaig and Jamie Shoemaker.
Patton made it a 5-1 lead late in the period with a shorthanded goal, with assists to Smith and Mitchell.
With the standings jam-packed and goals-for/goals-against a factor in tiebreaking scenarios, the Winterhawks did not let up in the 3rd period, as Underwood netted his second of the night at 9:17 of the 3rd, with assists to Trent Hawke and Greg Thede.
Elora got one back to make it 6-2, but Kading's second of the night at 18:22 capped the scoring, with Rocca and Johnstone assisting.
Flagler made 27 saves for the win as the Winterhawks outshot Elora 51-29, while the team's record improved to 16-4-0 on the season.
The standings are crowded at the top, with the Ripley Wolves sitting in first place with 34 points and two games remaining, followed by a four-way tie for 2nd place at 32 points, which includes the Winterhawks, Shelburne, Clinton and Seaforth.
Thanks to tiebreakers, the Winterhawks are guaranteed to finish ahead of Clinton and Seaforth, who have both concluded their regular season schedules.
With two games remaining, the Winterhawks will finish in the top-3 of the WOAA Sr. Hockey League standings, assuring the club with have home ice advantage when the Sr. "AA" playoffs open in two weeks.
The Winterhawks will travel to Shelburne next Friday night, January 31st, for a battle with the Muskies that will, in all likelihood, determine 2nd place. The Puck drops at 8:45 p.m.
The regular season wraps up the following night, February 1st, when the Winterhawks travel to Ripley to face the Wolves at 7:00 p.m.
