Back from the holiday break, the Elmira Sugar Kings found themselves on both the good and bad side of a 5-1 outcome last weekend, dropping a decision in Waterloo by that score on Saturday before rebounding the following day to share the pain with Brantford.
The KW Siskins showed why they were one of the frontrunners in the GOJHL’s Midwestern Conference in hosting the Kings January 6. Though there was no scoring in the first period, the home side outshot the visitors 14-5 on route to a 42-22 advantage by game’s end.
“We knew Saturday was going to be tough. We’d had three weeks off, and that first game back is always a hard one. They had played the night before, so they were up to speed and we were still trying to catch up,” said head coach Scott McMillan of the game in Waterloo.
While it was the Kings who got on the board first in the middle frame courtesy of Luke Della Croce, assisted by Joey Martin, that would be it for Elmira’s scoring. In a three-minute stretch later in the period, the Siskins put up three goals – the first shorthanded and the others on the power play – and put the game out of reach.
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Two even-strength goals followed in the third period to round out the scoring.
Elmira netminder Daniel Botelho stopped 37 in the losing cause that saw the Kings go 0-3 on the power play, while the Siskins were 2-5.
Despite the outcome, McMillan had praise for his players.
“Their work ethic is always top notch. It was just a matter of us being a little bit rusty and us not executing – it wasn’t a lack of effort, by any stretch,” he said. “Even though the score wasn’t good, the fact that we worked hard all night was impressive.”
Shifting gears at home Sunday, the Kings went from tackling the conference’s second-place team to facing the one at the bottom of the standings. That fact was reflected in the numbers.
Elmira scored first, Jayden Lammel’s goal coming at 4:15 of the opening period. Assists on the power-play marker went to Austin Mumby and Adam Grein.
The Bandits tied it up later in the frame via a power-play goal of their own, but Martin scored with just 12 seconds left in the period to restore Elmira’s lead. Brock Reinhart and Carter Lawson picked up assists on what would prove to be the game-winner.
The Kings weren’t done, however. Lammel scored again early in the second, assisted by Grein and Dustin Good, giving the team a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Logan Crans, from Lawson and Chris Black, scored at 2:11 of the third as the Kings enjoyed a man advantage. Grein (Lammel, Good) capped the scoring at 10:33 to give Elmira the 5-1 victory.
Shots were 44-10 in favour of the home team, with goaltender Hayden Sabourin posting the victory. Elmira was 2-6 on the power play, with Brantford going 1-4.
This weekend will provide another test for the squad, who’ll play three games in as many nights.
The Kings (19-14-1) are in Listowel Friday night to take on the Cyclones (15-15-2), then travel to Cambridge Saturday to face the Redhawks (22-6-4-1). The team returns home Sunday night to welcome the Ayr Centennials (19-13-1-1), who sit one point ahead of them in fourth place. Game time at the WMC is 7 p.m.
“There are a couple of big ones with Listowel and Ayr – the teams that we’re kind of right around the second tier of the pack with – so, yeah, it’ll be a big weekend here,” said McMillan of the games just ahead.
