The Aurora Tigers' tumble down the OJHL Eastern Conference standings is sadly reminiscent of a line uttered by the villainous King Claudius in the classic tragedy Hamlet: “When troubles come, they come not as single spies, but in battalions.”

The rookie-laden Tigers lineup experienced a similar invasion of battalions during a pair of punishing road losses meted out by the first-place Trenton Golden Hawks and the second-place Toronto Junior Canadiens. 

Losing 13-1 in Trenton on Friday night and 7-1 in Toronto on Sunday night brought scoreboard results not for the faint of heart.

Against the OJHL's second-ranked team on Friday, the Tigers found themselves behind early. The powerful Trenton squad—ranked seventh in Canada – came out firing as per their aircraft logo and racked up a 5-0 first period lead. The Golden Hawks bulged the twine at 1:04 and 1:37 of the second period to stretch their lead to 7-0.  

Tigers' rookie forward Josh Frenette's unassisted goal got Aurora on the scoreboard, but that was all the offence the visitors could muster.  The Golden Hawks—sporting a sparkling 30-7-0-1 record after their fourth consecutive win this year versus Aurora— led 11-1 heading into the final frame much to the delight of their 641 fans.

The Tigers headed west to Toronto in quest of a brighter result versus the Junior Canadiens against whom they have played well this season.

However, Sunday night provided no relief for the weary road warriors as Aurora's revamped young lineup was overmatched on The Scotiabank Pond. Against the OJHL's fourth-ranked team, the Tigers trailed 3-0 before the game was eight minutes old. 

Tigers' rookie centre Jobey Pearson's power play goal at 13:57—assisted by Tyler Oletic and Carson Littlejohns—pulled Aurora to within two. However, Jordan Karafile scored two of his three goals to close the period to give the Canadiens a 5-1 lead.

Karafile completed his hat trick at 1:31 of the middle frame and finished his five-point night by assisting on Nathan Phillips' marker at 9:58 of the third period to provide Toronto—ranked 22nd in the 122-team CJHL-- with its decisive margin of victory.   

The Tigers continue their arduous road trip on Sunday, January 14 when they travel to Wellington to face the third-place Dukes.

By Jim Stewart