The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks will play for the Hugh McLean Trophy.
The Winterhawks defeated the Shelburne Muskies twice over the weekend to sweep their way into the Ontario Elite Hockey League "A" final.
First was
Game 3 and an absolute drubbing that was over almost as soon as it started, with the Winterhawks cruising to a 14-2 win at The Plex on Friday night.
The game was played in support of longtime Winterhawk Trent Hawke, who is battling back from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS).
A gate collection during Game 3 raised more than $1,100 for the Hawke family, which will help them with their financial burden as Trent remains off work for an extended period of time.
Ethan Froats, Josh Urbshott, Brent MacDermid and Trevor Donaldson scored in the first period to pace the Winterhawks to an early 4-0 lead.
Donaldson added his second of the game before Shelburne got on the board, but the Winterhawks answered back with six goals and the rout was firmly on, as the Winterhawks lead 11-1 after two periods.
Shelburne added one more before Donaldson completed the hat-trick, followed by Miles MacLean and Spencer Sutter to round out the scoring for the 14-2 win.
MacLean recorded three goals and five assists in an eight-point effort.
Eric Peicheff made 23 saves for his third win of the series, while Donaldson was named The Wismer House Player of the Game with three goals and two assists.
Wiles Shines as Winterhawks Complete the Sweep
The Winterhawks then hopped on the WAVE Transportation bus Saturday evening in search of a sweep as they headed to Shelburne for Game 4.
With the junior hockey season winding down, the Winterhawks made use of their affiliated player pool, calling up Port Elgin native Hudson Wiles from the Listowel Cyclones, and Dylan Becker from the Walkerton Capitals.
With their backs against the wall, the Muskies put forth a much better effort, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game.
Mike Fiegehen answered back on the power play from MacLean and Urbshott and the game was knotted at 1-1 after one.
Shelburne again came out of the gate quickly and restored their lead, but Wiles answered back just over a minute later with his first goal as a Winterhawk to make it a 2-2 game early in the second.
Sutter put the Winterhawks ahead 3-2 on a goal assisted by Wiles, but this time Shelburne answered back and the game was tied once again.
Urbshott put the Winterhawks ahead for good at 11:38 of the second, on a goal assisted by 18-year old Wiles, and 46-year old MacDermid.
The Winterhawks took a 4-3 lead to the third period.
Wiles added his second of the night early in the period to give the Winterhawks some breathing room, but the Muskies weren't about to go quietly into the night, clawing back to within one at 6:14.
MacLean answered back less than a minute later to put a damper on the comeback.
Needing two goals, the Muskies pulled the goalie and it was Wiles completing the hat-trick in his debut to put the series away with a 7-4 Winterhawks victory and a 4-0 series sweep.
All told, Wiles netted three goals and added two assists, while Tyler Jackman was excellent in the Winterhawks net, making 42 saves for his first career playoff win.
The series win advances the Winterhawks into the OEHL "A" final and an opportunity to play for the Hugh McLean Trophy.
Their opponent is yet to be determined, as the Erin Outlaws and Tillsonburg Thunder continue their semi-final series, with Erin up 3-1 in the series.
The Winterhawks will be off next weekend, with the "A" championship series set to begin on the weekend of March 20th.
A series schedule will be distributed as soon as it is finalized.