Tigers Double Up Gryphins With Help Of Special Teams

Photo courtesy of Brandon Taylor, ProAm Image

With the Stoney Creek Tigers and Wentworth Gryphins both locked into their positions for the 2026 J. Robertson Cup playoffs, the two teams took to the Stoney Creek Arena ice on Saturday night for a tune-up ahead of the postseason and a potential preview of the championship round. The Tigers came away with a 6-3 victory, with four of their goals coming courtesy of their special teams.

Neither team gave an inch in the first period, but it was Stoney Creek who struck first, scoring a pair of goals on a four-minute power play. Chris Knighton opened the scoring at 10:33, followed by Paul Geiger just 42 seconds later — each notching their fourth goals of the season — to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

In the second period, Marc-Anthony Simonetta cut the Gryphins' deficit in half at 6:28 to make it a 2-1 game. However, Kyle Essery answered with a pair of shorthanded goals just 16 seconds apart, pushing the Tigers' lead to 4-1 with 8:27 remaining in the middle frame. Wentworth got one back nearly four minutes later when Eric Diodati scored his fourth of the season on the power play at 15:19, but Freddy Teeple responded for Stoney Creek with 99 seconds left on the clock to restore the three-goal cushion.

The teams split the scoring in the third. Teeple added his second goal of the game at 10:19 to make it 6-2, before Reid Yochim scored his third of the year for Wentworth with 4:52 remaining — too little, too late for the Gryphins to mount a comeback.

In net, Josh Roman earned the win in his first career ACHL start, turning aside 28 of 31 shots for the Tigers. Matthew Camilleri took the loss for Wentworth, stopping 27 shots while allowing six goals on the night.

The playoff schedule for both teams is expected to be released in the coming days, with games set to begin the first weekend of March.

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For more information contact Allan Cup Hockey Commissioner Rick Richardson at 905-328-4727 or email: rickystar911@outlook.com