Not wanting to allow fate to sort out the log jam atop the WOAA Northern Division standings, the Shelburne Muskies took matters into their own hands with a pair of solid performances, wrapping up the regular season in sole possession of second place on the strength of wins over both Elora and Palmerston this past weekend.

Friday night in Elora, things got off to a slow start for Shelburne. Down 3-0 early in the second, they soon found their stride and scored five unanswered goals and went on to defeat the Rocks 5-3.

Back home in the CDRC, Shelburne again got off to a slow start through the first, skating even with the 81's until late in the frame.

With just over 50 seconds left in the period, Justin Shoebridge found himself just inside the Palmerston blueline, sliding a pass across ice to Andy Dudun cruising in on the right side. Dudun wasted no time with the puck, snapping it past Palmerston goalie Scott Richardson for the early lead.

It was again Dudun off the top of two, this time combining with Trevor Downey just three minutes into the midframe to widen the Muskie lead.

Stonewalled by Richardson only minutes before on a breakaway, Chris Greer got his revenge at the 12:32 mark to put Shelburne out front at 3-0 and prompting a change in net for Palmerston.

A minute later Shoebridge broke cover of former Muskie Eddie O'Toole and sitting alone on the wide side, lobbed one into the twine to put the Fish in charge at 4-0.

Palmerston was rewarded for second effort and would get one back at 8:35 on the power-play.

Josh Sturrock remained a wall in net for Shelburne, robbing the 81's shooters time and time again. Effort soon turned to frustration for Palmerston and it didn't take long for that to break the surface in the third.

O'Toole and Shelburne forward Chad Boulton lead the procession to an early shower which was capped off late in the game by a brawl that not only featured all the players on the ice but included a few that joined the fracas from the bench.

Aaron Cowley would wrap up the scoring with 1:12 left on the clock to boost the final tally to 5-1 for Shelburne.

Speaking after the game, Muskie captain Greg Patton had nothing but praise for his fellow players, "Everyone did their part and came ready to play this weekend."

Patton noted that since training camp, he knew they

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had all the pieces necessary to win and it was only a question of time for the team to gel as it has. He also dispelled the feelings that tonight was a settling of bad blood between these perennial adversaries, " They lost their composure and their frustration showed."

Now riding a wave of success since a mid-season change behind the bench, coach Joe Bakes takes no credit for assembling the product on ice and is quick to thank former coach Scott Funston. "Scott built it, I've had fun with it and now we are all going to roll to a championship with it." Bakes went on to add how proud he is of each and every player. "Time and time again they have shown so much character, you can't help but be proud of these guys."

Now, the Muskies will have a week off to rest and regroup for their playoff debut.

In the opening round, they will square off against Tavistock. Game one of the best of seven series starts in Shelburne on Friday Feb 9th with games two and three to be played in Tavistock on February 10th and 16th respectively. For game four, its back to Shelburne and the familiar confines of the CDRC on Saturday, February 17.