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Go MoJac a VE \ na i rt ks must settle for 6-6 deadlock with the Merchants - Ph Sale Lis The third period is proving to be "death valley" as for as the Port Perry MoJacks are con- cerned. Three times in their last four games, the MoJacks have taken what looks like comforta- ble leads into the final frame, only to have floor fall out That's exactly what hap- pened Sunday night at the Scu- gog Arena as the MoJacks host- ed the Little Britain Merchants. Leading 6-3 after 40 min- utes and looking very much in command, the MoJacks sagged in the final stanza, allowing the Merchants three un-answered goals. The game ended in a 6-6 "deadlock, and at least the Mo- Jacks were able to come away with a pointin the standings. That wasn't the case De- cember 5 in Ajax as the Mo- Jacks were leading that one 6-6 with less than 60 seconds to play. The Axemen got the tying goal on the power play at 19:04, and 11 seconds later they popped in the winner to send the MoJacks back to Port Perry on the tail end of a 7-6 score. The third period blues started at the Scugog Arena De- cember 3 when the visiting Co- bourg Cougers scored with just one second 'on the time clock to salvage a 3-8 deadlock. It wasn't a completely blue week for the MoJacks as Friday night in Lakefield, they defeat- ed the last place Chiefs 3-1 on the strength of a first period marker by Danny Maw, fol- - lowed by power play goals Jar- rett Harman and Todd Taylor. ~ In the disappointing 7-6 loss to Ajax, the acks got their goals from Jim Vernon, Kevin Gibson, Darrin Lee, War- ren Geer, John Lally, and Kevin Desrosiers. On Sunday night against the Merghants (who had been thumped 7-2 the night before by league-leading Bowmanville) the MoJacks jumped into a fast 2-0 lead with goals by Lally and Maw. ] Greg Corneil cut the lead to 2-1 before Brad Menzies and John Harman each scored to give the MoJacks a 4-1lead. ~ Jodie Keenan parked him- self all alone in front of MoJack netminder Tony Sortino, and . there wasn't a MoJack defense- man within 10 feet of him. . Jim Vernon and 'Warren Geer turned the red light in the second as the MoJacks took a 6- 8 lead into the dressing room af- ter 40 minutes. But hockey is a 60-minute game and the Merchants Cor- neil made it 6-4 on the power play after 562 seconds, and the scored two more in quick order Netminder Tony Sortino of the Port Perry MoJacks was tested on this play Sunday night as the Little Britain Mer- chants paid a visit to the Scugog Arena. That's defenseman Chris Arsenault arriving on the scene to lend a hand. Mo- Jacks looked to have the game in hand, but as has been the Brad Menzies turned in a four point night with a goal and three assists. Port Perry out- shot the visitors 48-35 in this wide open game. SLAPSHOTS: ModJacks have four ties, one loss and one victo- ry in their last six games, and have dropped seven points back of league leading Bowmanville Eagles. Despite the spotty record over these last few games, the team remains solidly in second place, although the Ajax Axe- men are slowly making up ground. The ModJacks problem in the third periods appear to be 'more mental than mechanical. They-are making little errors (a 'player slightly out of position, a missed check in the neutral zone) that are turning out to be costly. And they are still giving up too many power play goals (three in Ajax, two against the Merchants) With the 36-game league just past the mid-point with Ke- schedule just past the half-way vin McLean and an doing mark, overall assessment of the the damage. 1989-90 Junior C MoJacks is Obviously stung by this positive. turn of events, the MoJacks The team is firmly in sec- "turned up the juice in the final ond place with 31 points on 13 six minutes, and had several de- wins, five draws and four losses. cent scoring chances, but Mer- Three of the defeats were by a chant netminder Rob Hallis single goal. was equal to the task. In fact, in their first 22 out- MoJacka.. leading. « §a0zer. « » ingssthateam has, game that could be considered a "clinker," the 8-2 loss Hallo- ween Night in Bowmanville. On the strength of the per- formance to date, the team has a legitimate claim to second place in the standings, and with a little luck, could be a few points closer to the first place After an extremely successful first week of December, the Mal- mont Farm Atom '"'A's" were brought back to reality with a re- sounding thump this past weekend. The trouble began on Friday night when they hosted Stouffville. ~ Port Perry staked the opposi- tion to a 4-0 lead in the first period and allowed one more in the se- cond as Stouffville buzzed around the ice generally unmolested. The home team finally mounted some offence in the third on an unassisted goal by Timmy Fitz- patrick and another by Daryl McEnaney from Todd Parry and Kent Johnston. . But that was "all she wrote" as Stouffville shut them down the rest of the way and left town had iust.one..s witha 5:2 victory in their jeans, ! h! Those third period nightmares 2 case In recent games, the third period proved disastrous for the MoJacks as they let the Merchants score three times to come back from a 6-3 deficit. (see story for the detalls of Junior C action) Eagles. Can they catch the Eagles over the next 14 games? That's a pretty tall order, but the Mo- Jacks have three dates left with Bowmanville. The MoJacks have a bit of a break in their schedule as they are idle until this coming Sun- The drought was to continue unabated on Saturday as the gang trudged to Cobourg for their an- nual tournament. Their first opposition from Peterborough proved formidable as'they were shutout 4-0. Peterborough did it all in this one, scoring two of their goals shorthanded. Next they faced a strong con- tingent from Brockville. This group was even tougher than the first. Six times the light behind our goal would flash while the one at the other end remained in darkness. : Cries of 'Who were those guys?' and "We was mugged!" were heard from the Port dress- ing room after this one. Messers Holtby and Reid have threatened to sue the entire squad for non support. The offence sputtered all day evening when they host the Uxbridge Bruins (Dec. 17) for the annual Christmas Night. There will be lots of lucky draws for kids'and adults. And whenever the Bruins and the ModJacks hook up, it's usually a pretty good hockey game as well. Face offis 7:30 PM. Thump, It's back to reality weekend long and were unable to sustain much real pressure. Somehow their powder must have gotten wet. The defence was not without their problems as the fast skating forewards of the opposi- tion gave them fits on every shift. On the bright side, some flashes of brilliance were evident. M.V.P. honours went to Todd Parry in the first game. for his energetic two way play and Kent Johnston con- ig to display a good work ethic. Mercifully I saw no solitary figure complete with green hockey bags hitching west on 401 on Saturday afternoon! I guess all parents honoured their responsibilities. This past weekend is best put behind us and we look forward to the next league game at home on Friday at 8 against Cobourg.