Mark Stehlin
May 31, 2025
The Ennismore James Gang made the trip to Iroquois Park Sports Centre tonight for a game against the Brooklin Merchants. These teams last met on May 13 in Ennismore where the Merchants came out with a close 12-10 win, having outshot their opponents 67-49. It was a much different game between these teams tonight.
Coaches Ryan Degerdon and Mark Debrone reminded the team how important this season was for the club and stressed the significance of imposing their will on their opponent each and every night. Those words rang true as the Merchants reeled off seven straight goals to start the game en route to a 22-5 win, improving their record to 7-1 and dropping Ennismore to 1-4. Merchants veteran Liam Osborne had a stellar night with a team record six goals and five assists for 11 points, a feat that make former Toronto Maple Leaf Darryl Sittler sit up and take notice.
“We were joking on the bench that the last time I played offense I got zero points and so to get the 11 tonight is really a testament to how good my teammates are,” said Osborne outside a jubilant Merchants dressing room last night.
“I came here because I trust Degsy and Prouter (Head Coach Ryan Degerdon and GM Gavin Prout) and I will play wherever I am needed, whether that is defense, offense or transition. My goal here is to win and do what the team needs for that to happen,” added Osborne.
“Going down the stretch here we just have to keep getting better and to add the building blocks. Last week’s win in Six Nations was a big one and so was tonight. We know that every game we have to make the most of it,” said Osborne.
Osborne and his teammates made the most of this game and took it to Ennismore from the opening draw. They ran out to a 9-1 lead by the time the buzzer sounded to end the first period. Osborne set up shop behind the net a few times tonight looking for open teammates. He found Darren Elliott on a perfect pass in that opening frame for one of his five helpers.
The second period mirrored the first in that the Merchants offense was relentless and put up seven more goals before Frank Coyle for the James Gang stopped the bleeding late. Score as the clock wound down in the middle frame was 16-2 for the home side.
The third period was a tighter affair as the Merchants won it by a 6-3 final. Tempers flared in that frame as the visitors frustration began to show and a member of the coaching staff and a player were sent off to get an early start on the drive home. It was interesting to note that with eight minutes remaining and an 18-3 lead, Degerdon had the white board out providing direction to his offense. On the other side of the bench, defensive coach Mark Debrone could be heard providing instruction and imploring his defenders to stand tall and snuff out any offensive attempts by Ennismore. Both coaches have said that this year is about showing up for a full 60 minutes each and every night no matter the opponent or score line. Final score on this night was 22-5 in favour of the Merchants.
The Merchants are off until Saturday June 7 when the Hamilton Bengals come to town for a 6 pm start at IPSC. Fans are reminded that the booster lounge is open in Whitney Hall and BarDown Gastropub is the place to gather for post-game festivities.
Scoring – Osborne (6,5) Costello (0,2) Renaud (2,4) McCrory (0,1) Elliott (2,3) Hyland (1,0) D Pipher (3,4) Perroni (1,1) Pulera (1,6) Handsor (1,0) Crawford (1,1) Miller (0,4) Tucker (3,0) Robertson (1,0) Coote (0,1) McCrory (0,1) Miller (0,4)