10/21/2026
Overtime win extends Chatham Maroons’ streak
The Chatham Maroons don’t want to get complacent, so one bad loss was enough to spur a minor shakeup.
Since shuffling some lines, they’ve won three in a row.
“It all worked out in the end, so that’s good,” said forward Parker Nyitray, who has five goals during the winning streak.
“It’s great when you have all the lines clicking and everyone’s playing hard. Everyone’s buying in, as a group, from the coaching staff to the equipment managers. Everyone is a tight group here. It’s amazing.”
The Maroons made the moves after a 6-1 loss to the Caledonia Corvairs. Cooper Bordeaux joined Dylan Richter and Eddie Hickson on the top line, while Andrew Baker replaced Bordeaux on a line with Nyitray and Aidan Edwards.
Nyitray kept the winning streak going Sunday with an overtime goal to beat the Strathroy Rockets 3-2 in front of 817 fans at Chatham Memorial Arena.
He took a pass from Richter on the left wing and slipped past the Rockets’ defence for a breakaway.
“I live with that guy, I do everything with that guy, so I was excited to play with him,” Nyitray said. “He had the puck, he drew two defenders into him and I was calling for it. He found me and it all happened from there.”
He credited his linemates’ passes for the scoring streak that’s lifted him into a fourth-place tie in the Greater Ontario Hockey League with a team-leading 11 goals.
“We’re clicking good,” he said.
The Maroons (10-2-0-0) don’t have a home game this week. They visit the St. Catharines Falcons Friday and the Ayr Centennials Sunday.
“It sucks that we can’t play here,” Nyitray said. “The fans are awesome. They pack the house every night. They’ve got a lot of energy and we feed off that, but, two road games, we should be good. We’ve got to have good practices and come ready to play.”
The Maroons assembled this winning streak against three of the four teams at the bottom of the Western Conference.
It wasn’t easy, though. They led the winless Legionnaires by only one midway through the third period before pulling away for 6-3 win last Thursday in Sarnia. Then, they needed overtime against the Rockets after allowing a late power-play goal.
“Every game, we’ve got to play hard and bring our game,” defenceman Michael Robertson said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.
“I think that’s what Chatham is built on: keep sticking to what we know and playing hard every single game. We can’t let off.”
On Sunday, general manager Richard Santos debuted as interim head coach following Brennan Feasey’s exit to the OHL. Feasey joined the Owen Sound Attack as an assistant coach.
Robertson opened the scoring early with his first of the season.
“It felt good,” said the 19-year-old defenceman. “Nice to get it off the back. I’ve been in and out of the lineup with injuries, so it feels good to come back and get it first shift of the game.”
Ian Nurton and Baker traded goals in the second period. Justin Balcar scored the tying goal with 1:56 left in regulation after Baker received a boarding major and game misconduct.
Nyitray praised the penalty-killers and goalie Gannon Hunter for keeping the score tied.
“We had to kill a five-minute penalty, which is not ideal at the end of the game and in overtime, too, so credit to those guys,” he said.
Hunter made a season high 40 saves.
On Thursday, Nyitray had a hat trick and Egor Sokolov made 26 saves. Hickson and Santiago Jimenes also scored before rookie Jacob Curic added an empty-netter for his first GOHL goal.
The Edwards-Nyitray-Baker line has six goals and 11 points during the winning streak.
“Our line can do it all,” Nyitray said. “We play a good 200-foot game. If we need to score goals, we’ll score goals. But if we want to shut down guys, I think we can do that also.”
NOTES: The Maroons raised almost $5,000 during their annual breast cancer awareness night Sunday. That’s the highest total since the event began in 2013. The cumulative total is more than $38,000. . . . The Maroons’ special black and pink jerseys were auctioned with proceeds going to Breast Buddies, a dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors. However, the Maroons couldn’t wear the jerseys during the game as planned because they were too similar to the Rockets’ black uniforms. . . . The pre-game ceremony included 24 Breast Buddies as well as Hunter’s aunt, Shauna Kraus, and Jimenes’ mother, Giulia. . . . The Attack are last in the OHL’s Western Conference. Feasey joined them on a three-game weekend road trip. After losing in Windsor and Flint, they won Sunday in Saginaw.
Mark Malone (CDN)
