It took the Mount Forest Patriots a period-and-a-half to warm up, but the three-time defending Pollock Division champions put in a gutsy effort in the second half in Game 6 of their Provincial Junior Hockey League Semi-Final against Mitchell to come away with a 4-3 victory.
Mitchell carried all the momentum early, with Max Hall opening the scoring just 1:43 into the first period. Blair Butchart tied it up with a goal for the Pats just after the midway mark, before Tyson Hall made it 2-1 late as Mitchell went into the break with a lead.
Despite a second period that they controlled, Mitchell was unable to add to their lead, and a goal by Patriots captain Mike Stefanelli with just 21 seconds remaining in the 2nd period proved to be the turning point as the teams entered the final frame tied at 2.
In the third, Ariss native Nathan Bolger scored his first PJHL Playoff goal in his 21st career playoff game just 1:15 in. Shortly after, a shot back off of Patriots goaltender Gleb Poliakov's mask went right to Pollock Division M.V.P. Ryley Cribben, who made two nifty moves to work his way to the centre of the ice on the fly into the Mitchell zone, and snapped a shot short-side on Mitchell goalie Lucas Bain. Mitchell worked hard late, with Jake Finlayson adding a goal just after the five minute mark in the third, but Mitchell was unable to mount any sort of late pressure, ceding Game 6 to the Patriots, and setting up a crucial Game 7 on Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. in Mount Forest.
