The Huntsville Dennis Groomes Roofing Bantam AE Otters are off to a strong start with a 5-0 record in Muskoka Parry Sound Hockey League play.

The Otters opened the season against Bracebridge. They came away with 4-1 and 10-2 victories. At least two goals were scored by each of Daniel Taylor, Casey Groomes, Ted Logan, Noah Stevens, Daniel Lang and Arjun Jindal. Goalies Linden Roy and Andrew McNeil held the Bears to three goals.

Next, the Otters played a two-game series against a strong team from Almaguin. Goal-scorers for the Otters included Colin McDonald, Groomes, Logan, Kyle Ryan, and Jindal, with Curtis Bennett scoring twice. The Otters took the series with  3-2 and a 4-0 victories over Almaguin, thanks to strong defensive play by Ryan, Richard Middleton, Lang, Connor Martin and Jindal. Roy posted his first shutout of the season, while goalie McNeil held off Almaguin for a 3-2 win.

On Oct. 24 the Otters travelled to Collingwood for the regional Silver Stick Tournament. Game 1 saw Roy in net against a strong team from Dorchester. Scott Arlidge opened the scoring for Huntsville, assisted by Logan and Stevens. Jindal’s second-period goal gave the Otters a 2-0 lead. However, the bigger, faster Dorchester team found their legs and scored three second-period goals. The Otters tried hard to skate and shoot their way back into the game, but Dorchester left the ice with a 6-2 win.

In Game 2, against Mitchell, Stevens scored first, assisted by Logan, midway though the second. Bennett scored late in the third, with McDonald and Lang assisting. Mitchell skaters turned the pressure on goalie McNeil and they got one past him with 1:25 left to play. With six Mitchell attackers for the final 80 seconds, defenders Ryan, Middleton, Lang, Jindal, and Justin House worked effectively to close out a 2-1 Otter victory.

The final game was against Mooretown. Both teams played a tight-checking game but the Otters were unable to score. Roy was strong in net, but Mooretown was able to get enough shots past him for a 3-0 win.

On Nov. 8, the Otters hosted a one-day tournament in Baysville. They opened with a 6-0 win against Bracebridge and 2-0 win against Lindsay. Goal-scorers included Matt Janke, Bennett, Arlidge, Groomes, Tom Litchfield, Carly Gray, and Jindal, with Roy and McNeil posting shutouts.

Two wins put the Otters into the final against Essa. With 59 seconds left in the second, Essa put a shot behind Roy to take a 1-0 lead. Late in the third, Stevens scored the last goal of regulation time to tie the game 1-1. With the gold medal on the line, the teams played two minutes of four-on-four and two minutes of three-on-three. Still tied, they went down to two-on-two. It took 90 seconds for Essa to push a rebound past Roy for a 2-1 win.

The Baysville tournament was a huge success for the Otters and for their out-of-town teams.