Sunday night, March 16 at 6:30 p.m.  — There will be no other place to be than the New Tecumseth Recreation Complex in Alliston as the Jr. C Alliston Hornets hit the ice for what could be the final 60 minutes of their 2007-08 season with a strong chance of winning the Georgian Mid-Ontario League title for the first time in 24 years.

After a stellar regular season that saw the Alliston boys in green and gold drop only three games of 42 played and sweep Erin in the semi-finals, the Hornets are now just one victory away from laying claim to the cup — the crowning trophy for the league champions.

Penetang earned its right to the championship round after a similarly stellar season with 35 wins in 42 games and just six losses all season long.

Friday night (March 14) the Hornets travelled to Penetang for game four of the best-of-seven series and pulled off a 4-2 victory to edge them within one game of the title and give them the chance to claim it at home in front of a hometown crowd of support.

Last Wednesday night saw a capacity crowd at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre of 800 as the Hornets walked away with game number three of the series by a score of 2-1, to take a 2-1 game series lead.

But the Kings' backs were against the wall in game four Friday.

Penetang drew first blood as Greg Cerilli scored on a powerplay with 11:15 left in the opening frame off a pass from Aaron Duval

Alliston’s 6'3", 230-lb left winger from Bradford, Luke Vanderhulst, responded to tie it up 1-1 with 3:34 left in the first, assisted by Eric Shannon and Jason Farquhar.

It was a chippy 20 minutes of hockey with numerous penalties for both sides up at the Penetang barn and one more serious scuffle between Alliston netminder Jon Porretta and a King’s player that resulted in a roughing penalty for the Hornets.

It was clear during the first period however, that the Kings were treating this like their backs were against the wall as they dominated the frame and peppered the Alliston net with shots.

In the second period, things were much cleaner penalty-wise, but a penalty shot just over three minutes into play was what put Alliston ahead 2-1. Nineteen-year-old, 5’10” right-winger, Jason Campeau was awarded the shot after an interference call on Penetang and he made good on it.

Penentang was frustrated a few minutes later as they seemed to score, but the ref called the goal back to leave it 2-1 for the Hornets.

Then the Hornets Robbie Rutledge notched goal number three for the Hornets off the sticks of Ryan Algar and Thomas Faris with just 57 seconds left to make it 3-1.

It was a quick second frame with relatively few whistles to break up the action.

In the third period, Campeau added another goal to his night for the Hornets on a powerplay, assisted by Brandon Elliott at the halfway mark, undoubtedly becoming the hero in this one for the Hornets.

Penetang's Lenny Robillard scored with 7:26 remaining on the clock on a powerplay from Brad Baum and Cerilli, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy the fans or the scoreboard.

The third frame was pretty back and forth for both teams with nothing major in the penalty box or on the ice to report.

In total, Alliston players spent 36 minutes in the penalty box on 14 infractions, while the Kings' players suffered 48 minutes on 17 penalty calls. 

The Hornets are now just one win away from their first league title since 1984, leading the series three games to one over last season's Georgian Mid-Ontario League Champions.

Sunday, March 16 will undoubtedly be a big game for the boys in gold and green as they stand a chance to celebrate a cup victory on home ice in Alliston. That game starts at 6:30 p.m. at the New Tecumseth Recreation Complex on Industrial Parkway.

Tickets are on sale at the information kiosk in the rink in advance. It's expected be a full house for the game so get 'em while they're hot. Don't forget to print out a poster from the link on our homepage, or bring along those javex-jug penny noisemakers to cheer our hometown boys on to victory!

The Alliston Herald will be posting live updates as the game is played Sunday right here on www.allistonherald.com. Tune in starting at 6:30 p.m. Find out about the results first right here.