Chiefs lose season opener

The Lakefield Hendren Funeral Chiefs began their defence of their Schmalz Cup Junior C hockey provincial championship Friday night and were edged 3-2 in their season opener by the Uxbridge Bruins in Uxbridge.

The Bruins took a 2-0 lead in the first period on power play goals by Jackson Savery, assisted by Matthew Hunter and Stefan Palatsidis, and Palatsidis assisted by Cole Bremner.

The Chiefs stormed back in the second period to tie up the game on a power play goal by Dalton Smith, assisted by Karn Dart and Jeff Hawthorne, and an even handed goal by Hawthorne assisted by Jesse Merrill.

Justin Bennett scored the winning goal for Uxbridge in the third, assisted by Palatsidis and Savery, again on the power play.

Lakefield outshot Uxbridge 29-27, with Chiefs goalie Michael Christie making 24 stops on 27 shots and winning goalie Ryan McConkey making 27 saves on 29 shots.

The Chiefs will look for their first win of the season next Friday on the road when they face the Georgina Ice at 7:30 p.m.

Lakefield’s home opener is Sept. 22 at 7:25 p.m. when they host the Amherstview Jets. The PJHL season will feature a new cross-over schedule between the Orr and Tod divisions.

The Chiefs will hold a Schmalz Cup banner raising ceremony at the start of the home opener.