Heading into the final week of October, the U11 Hurricanes would face off against the newly-named Credit River Capitals on Wednesday and arch-rival Oakville Rangers in a back-to-back on Thursday night.
First up against the Capitals - who now draw players from the wider Brampton, Caledon and Orangeville areas north-east of Halton - this inaugural meeting between the teams held a level of intrigue after the off-season changes.
The Capitals came to play and jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the game. After two full periods, the Hurricanes were staring at an uphill battle yet rose to meet the challenge. With 2 goals to get the game back to even during the third period, they got over the hump for this mid-week match by scoring twice more before the final buzzer would sound.
Final Score: Hurricanes: 4, Capitals: 2
The following night's clash in Oakville featured a hungry Rangers team looking for redemption after falling to the Hurricanes 4-2 in a mid-September exhibition game.
After one period, Oakville carried a 1-0 lead and were looking for more with 1 minute and 8 seconds remaining in a power play to start the second. Yet it was the Halton side that dominated much of the middle frame. Going on the power play themselves, they came close on two excellent attempts at deflecting shots from the point. The Rangers netminder continued to turn away a series of scoring chances including a shot from the hash marks as the Hurricanes kept the pressure in the offensive zone but to no avail.
As the period wound down, the Rangers found some good fortune over a 5-minute span and capitalized on their chances to add 3 quick goals, making it 4-0 heading into the third. The Hurricanes continued to get some good chances right to the end of regulation time but found themselves heading home with a 5-0 loss and splitting their first back-to-back of the season.
Final Score: Hurricanes 0, Rangers 5
Bonus ranking: coffee at the Joshua Creek arena smoothie bar (4 out of 5 stars)