The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks opened their 2025-26 season with a wild shootout loss to the Elmvale Harvesters.
Prior to the game, the club recognized some summer sports excellence, welcoming the Saugeen Shores Sting U9 and U13 Select OBA champions.
As has become tradition, Outlaw Brew Co. kicked off the season by dropping the ceremonial puck to start off the 18th season of Winterhawks hockey.
Once the puck dropped for real, the Harvesters came out flying.
The expansion club hemmed the Winterhawks in for what felt like an eternity to start the game, only the outstanding play of Winterhawks goalie Eric Peicheff kept Elmvale off the board.
The Harvesters picked up a power play and scored at 5:27 to make it a 1-0 Elmvale lead.
The Winterhawks eventually got the legs going and tied the game at 11:12 when debuting Winterhawk Rob Flick scored from Brent MacDermid and Luke Pither.
That score held through the 1st period and into the second.
The Winterhawks took the lead at 6:22 when Chad Jones hammered a slapshot from the point that was deflected in front by Justin Marlowe to give the 'Hawks a 2-1 lead.
Elmvale answered back with a net-front goal to tie the game at 2-2 at 11:25.
The Harvesters took the lead on a power play goal at 14:59, but Pither answered right back less than a minute later to make it a 3-3 game.
Elmvale returned the volley and took a 4-3 lead heading into the third period.
The Winterhawks picked up a power play just past the midway point of the third and it was MacDermid who drew the 'Hawks even again. The Winterhawks all-time leading scorer and nothing but a slight sliver of an opening to shoot at, and he threaded the needle for the goal.
A rough night for the Winterhawks penalty kill continued just two minutes later when Elmvale once again took the lead with the man advantage, taking a 5-4 lead with six minutes to play.
The Winterhawks pushed and tied it up yet again at 15:22 when Justin Donnelly took a beautiful feed in front from Miles MacLean for a tap-in goal to make it a 5-5 game and send it to overtime.
What followed was a highly entertaining 3-on-3 overtime period, as the two clubs traded chances, culminating in the dying seconds with Peicheff making a spectacular point blank save on an Elmvale player who was alone in front.
The save sent Pither in alone on a breakaway, but Elmvale's goaltender was equal to the task, and the game moved into the shootout.
Peicheff turned away the first Elmvale shooter, but the next two scored, while Pither and MacLean were turned aside, giving the Harvesters the 6-5 shootout win.
Peicheff took the loss, but was excellent, making 37 saves on a busy night between the pipes.
The Winterhawks return to home ice this Friday night, October 10th, to face a more familiar foe, the Durham Thundercats. Game time is 8:30 p.m. at The Plex.