Kings drop squeaker to Guelph Dominators
It was an exciting game that kept the home fans enthralled from the moment the first puck was dropped until the third-period buzzer sounded, ending a game that, for its full 60 minutes, could have gone either way. Unfortunately for the home side, the Guelph Dominators took the edge Jan. 25, defeating the Elmira Sugar Kings 6-5 in a real nail-biter.
Coming off a 7-5 loss to third-place Listowel (25-11-8) on Jan. 23, the Kings were eager to win one in their own barn.
In a tight battle, the winning goal wasn’t scored until the 19-minute mark of the third frame.
Elmira netminder Jake Williams redirects the puck with his blocker in Junior B action at the Elmira Arena Jan. 25. He faced 39 shots in a nail-biter ultimately won 6-5 by the Guelph Dominators.
“We showed a lot of positives in the first couple periods. I thought we really tested their “D,” and our power play was working, our penalty kill was effective; and in the third period I just thought we got away from that, got away from what our strengths were and what led to success and that’s what cost us,” said coach Geoff Haddaway after the game.
Elmira’s Jarred Parent, who didn’t stop hustling all night, opened the scoring for the home side, combining with Nic MacEachern and Paul Thompson at 7:54.
“I thought we worked really hard, we just couldn’t hold them off in the third period but we had a few lapses. I still think we worked hard,” said Parent.
A short while later …Read more
Back-to-back wins for Kings in midweek road trip
After a pair of losses last weekend, the Elmira Sugar Kings turned things around midweek, defeating Welland 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday and dumping Kitchener 7-4 the following night …Read more
Kings unable to hold lead against Siskins
An early lead fell by the wayside as the Sugar Kings eventually fell 5-4 to the visiting Waterloo Siskins Wednesday night.
Despite jumping out in front on first-period goals by Kyle McNeil (Trent Brown, Brent Freeman) and Brown (Josh Ranalli, McNeil) at 2:57 and 19:18 respectively, the Kings were unable to contain a hungry Siskins squad. Waterloo (25-12-3) is sitting in fifth place in the Midwestern Conference, 16 points ahead of Elmira, and 15 points behind the increasingly insurmountable Brantford Golden Eagles.
Philip Teri straight-arms Waterloo’s Tanner Pearson as the two battle for a loose puck Jan. 21. The Kings dropped a 5-4 decision to the Siskins.
But as Elmira’s solid upset win over Brantford revealed last week, any team should be within reach for the local squad. The Siskins had other plans, however.
Waterloo’s Ryan Dilks, from Mark Mantynen and Eric Lekun, potted his team’s first at 1:50 of the second, making a 2-1 game.
Michael Therrien made it 3-1 for Elmira at 10:38, combining on the power play with Philip Teri and Paul Thompson …Read more
Pair of wins has Kings feeling optimistic
Elmira’s Junior B squad were Kings of the weekend, defeating the top-ranked Brantford Golden Eagles (32-6-4) 2-0 Jan. 17, and then downing the Guelph Dominators 5-3 at home the following night.
It was all in all a good weekend for the Sugar Kings who, despite a few slip-ups on Sunday, put in a strong, energetic and ambitious effort in both games.
Sugar King Jeff Zippel carries the puck in Junior B action against the Guelph Dominators Jan. 18 at the Elmira Arena. The Kings won 5-3.
On Saturday, Elmira’s big man, Kyle McNeil, got things going at 14:34 of the first period while on the power play; Josh Ranalli and Brent Freeman, the Kings’ point leader with 58 points (21-37) in 37 games, picked up the helpers.
In the second period the prolific line combined once again to put the game away as Freeman banked one in courtesy of McNeil and Ranalli. From then onwards, the Kings were able to withstand …Read more
Jutzi to join prospects game
Elmira Sugar Kings defenceman Jon Jutzi has been tapped to play in the Midwestern conference’s top prospects game Jan. 19.
“He’s an outstanding choice,” said coach Geoff Haddaway. “Jon has had an exceptional start to the season. It’s been pretty …Read more
Kings manage one point in weekend play
The Elmira Sugar Kings picked up just one point in a pair of games last weekend, and remain stalled in seventh place in the Midwestern Junior B conference with a record of 13-18-4.
On Jan. 3, Elmira faced the Cambridge Winter Hawks, a team that scored seven goals against them in each of their previous two matchups … and the proceeded to repeat the feat for a third time. The final score was 7-4.
Elmira’s Kyle McNeil directs the puck toward the Stratford net Jan. 4, looking to restore the Sugar Kings’ lead in the third period. The Kings ultimately lost 4-3 in a shootout.
The Kings struggled with their special teams, scoring on two of 11 power play opportunities while Cambridge converted on three of six power plays.
Cambridge built up a three-goal lead in the first period, with Anthony Colizza, Cody Hall and Nathan Ableson notching points, two of them power play goals.
The Kings made their move onto the scoreboard at 1:29 in the second period, when Kyle Blaney scored on a feed from Michael Therrien and Tyler Kuntz. …Read more
Elmira contingent part of Team Canada win
When Team Canada won the Deutschland Cup in November, three of the players celebrating the victory were former Elmira Sugar Kings.
Derek Hahn scored in the dying seconds of Canada’s 3-0 win over Switzerland in the second round. Jamie Wright logged an assist in …Read more
Another pair of losses for the Kings
Nic MacEachern carries the puck up the ice during the Sugar Kings matchup against Brantford Dec. 14.
The Elmira Sugar Kings continued their roller coaster season last weekend, this time on a downward plunge, dropping games to Guelph and Brantford.
The Kings allowed 17 goals over the weekend, losing an 8-6 decision to the Guelph Dominators Dec. 13 and going down 9-1 to the Golden Eagles the following day.
Coach Geoff Haddaway called the weekend’s results “extremely disappointing.”
“You lose …Read more
