Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
For the second straight game the Port Hope Panthers rode a late surge to victory over the Amherstview Jets, scoring three times in the final 10 minutes to secure a 5-4 win in Game 4 of the PJHL Tod Division finals.
Thursday’s win in Amherstview puts the Panthers up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The Jets looked to be on their way to evening the series with a three goal outburst of their own early in the third. Kyle Casford scored at the 6:31 mark for the home team to knot the score at 2-2 before Joey Mayer and James O’Brien scored at 8:37 and 8:57 respectively to put the Jets uo 4-2.
The celebration was short lived however as Port Hope’s Brad Bollert chipped away at the lead, scoring at the 11:37 mark and then at 15:55 on the power-play. Dayton Kent had the back-breaking game winner with just over a minute to go in regulation.
Alexei Masanko took the loss with 39 saves while Spyros Koskinas earned the win in front of 467 fans.
The Jets will look to keep their season alive Saturday night when they head to Port Hope for Game 5. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. Should they win, Game 6 would be back in Amherstview on Sunday at 7 p.m. A winner-take-all Game 7 would go Monday in Port Hope.
One more win would give the Panthers their fourth straight league title.