Wallaceburg Lakers Eliminated, Wheatley Advances to Final

Wallaceburg Lakers - Matt Berglund - Photo by Ian Kennedy

Game after game, the Wallaceburg Lakers and Wheatley Sharks traded blows, but in the end, it was the Wheatley Sharks who were able to advance. Originally ranked 3rd in the South Division of the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League, Wheatley knocked off 2nd place Essex in round one, before upsetting the 1st overall Wallaceburg Lakers, capped by Monday’s 2-1 win.

Rob Pollock opened the scoring for Wallaceburg on the powerplay with assists going to Shawn Lubbers and Tyler Lewis. As has been the case in much of this series, it didn’t take long for the opposing team to strike back, and strike back Wheatley did on a goal by Dylan Cosford.

In the second period, the Wheatley Sharks were the only team to hit the scoreboard with Kevin Swatzky scoring from Shawn Quigley and Shane Vienneau. Wheatley held their lead until with just over one minute to go in regulation, Wallaceburg Lakers forward Brendon Merritt, who has been a clutch scorer for the Wallaceburg Lakers in the playoffs, scored his 5th of the postseason to send the game to overtime tied 2-2.

Then, at 9:22 of overtime, Josh Tremblay sent his team to a place they haven’t been in recent years, the Great Lakes Junior C Final as he scored to give the Wheatley Sharks a 3-2 win.

Wheatley will now face the Belle River Canadiens in the Great Lakes Final. Although Belle River will be the favourite in this series having finished only points behind Wallaceburg in the overall standings, Wheatley has shown an ability to beat top teams and will look to continue this trend as their series gets underway.

Follow the Chatham-Kent Sports Network for the series schedule as soon as it becomes available, as well as scores, results, photos, and