By Darryl G. Smart

After a victorious national television debut the week before, the Brantford 99ers find themselves in a heated battle for a spot in the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Thursday, the 99ers began a busy extended weekend with a crucial 4-1 win over the Georgetown Raiders Jr. A Hockey at home.
Kyle Bollers, Jacob Ball, Nick McHugh, and Nick Abbott scored for the 99ers.
Ryan Brown scored the games first goal, giving the Raiders its only lead.
Friday, Liam Stevens and Matthew Duarte scored the lone 99ers goals in a 7-2 loss to the Boyer Auto Group Pickering Panthers Jr. A Hockey Club.
Rocco Andreacchi led the Panthers with two goals, with Kevin Stiles, Nicholas Papadopoulos, Nathan Gooch, Brendan Sirizzotti, and Shane Bull adding one each.
On Sunday, Duarte and Ball were the only ones to score, in a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Patriots Jr. A Hockey Club.
Marcelo Pericao, Andrew Horsley, Jackson Alexeev, Dante Jones, and Tiger Zhang all added one goal each.
Colton Incze was forced to make 43 saves for the 99ers.
The 99ers now sit in fifth place in the OJHL’s West Division. They now trail the Raiders by two points for the final playoff spot in the division, with five games remaining.
Thursday, they host the Cobourg Cougars Jr. A Hockey at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, before going on the road to face the Burlington Cougars Jr. A Hockey Club Friday, and Raiders Saturday. All games are at 7:30pm.