A pair of tough losses on the weekend dropped the Wingham Ironmen under the Kincardine Bulldogs as the Ironmen were defeated 5-3 at home Friday night by the Hanover Barons, before a 4-3 overtime loss in Kincardine Saturday night.
The losses leave the Ironmen with 32 points, two back of Kincardine, with Walkerton in first at 50 points. Hanover continues to hold down second at 43 points, with Mitchell just behind at 40.
Friday night the Ironmen got off to a good start with the only goal of the first period as Cory MacDonald put the Ironmen up 1-0 at 16:17 of the period. Wingham head coach Chad Haggitt said the team played just the way he wanted in not giving up any chances to the Barons but made some mistakes in the second.
The Barons took advantage, with a pair of quick goals in the second at 7:29 and 9:46 to take a 2-1 lead before Greg Tiffin tied it before the end of the period.
The Barons took control in the third though with two more quick goals at 9:40 and 10:22 for a 4-2 lead before Adam Hunsberger got the Ironmen close at 13:43.
It was all the Ironmen could get, however, as the Barons sealed the win with an empty net goal at 19:28 for the 5-3 win.
The Barons outshot the Ironmen 35-33 and were two for six with the man advantage while the Ironmen were scoreless in three chances on the power play.
Saturday in Kincardine, the Ironmen again got off to a good start with two goals in the first period from Brady Houston and Wade Stephenson for a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.
The Ironmen extended the lead to 3-0 with a goal from Tiffin at 1:04 of the second but the Bulldogs took over with three straight goals to tie it 3-3 at 2:54 of the third.
Stephenson added his second of the game a minute later, but the Ironmen couldn’t hold the lead as the Bulldogs again tied it two minutes later before putting home the winner 57 seconds into the overtime.
Haggitt said with the 3-0 lead, the Ironmen tried to do too much instead of playing a simpler game.
The Ironmen are on the road this weekend when they visit Walkerton Friday at 8:30 p.m. before travelling to Mount Forest on Saturday, also at 8:30 p.m.
With six games left, Haggitt said third place is probably out of reach, but with the league so close, anything can happen as they try to retake home ice from the Bulldogs.