Kings on the edge after going down 3-0 in Cherrey Cup series
Whether the battle against Listowel continues into the weekend depends on results of Wednesday night’s game
DOWN BUT NOT OUT ... yet, the Sugar Kings were hoping to reverse the situation from last year’s Cherrey Cup series against the Listowel Cyclones.
Dropping a 4-2 decision in Listowel Tuesday night, Elmira was down 3-0 in the series heading into Wednesday night’s game at the WMC (results weren’t available before press time).
Last year at this time, the Kings won the first two games of the series before Listowel skated to four straight wins to take the cup.
“You’ve got to win four games. Last year we were up 2-0 and then they won four straight against us so we have been in a similar position,” said head coach Trent Brown ahead of what could be the deciding game. “We have been on the other side, but it doesn’t matter if we are playing Brampton, Stratford, Listowel ... this year, last year, ten years ago, it’s the same format: you’ve got to win four games. Every game is going to be a process, so it’s going to be a battle night in, night out. We have got to find a way.”
After defeating the second-place Stratford Warriors in a riveting sixgame series, the Kings were back at it in Listowel with a sold out arena less than a week later. Whether a bit rusty or still recuperating from the second-round tilt, the Kings were held off the board and fell 2-0 in the opening match last Friday night.
In what would be the game-winning goal, Listowel’s Caleb Warren scored on the power play with just two minutes left in the first period. That was all the scoring until Listowel capitalized on an empty net just as time ran out.
After that hard-fought loss, the Kings returned home for an Easter Sunday game in front of an enthusiastic crowd of more than 1,000 fans. There would be no treats, however, as the visitors edged the Kings 4-3.
Listowel took advantage of a broken defence and scored three straight in the opening period, the first coming from the King’s Ethan Skinner’s brother Danny with a rocket from the slot. It was 3-0 after 20 minutes.
The Skinner brothers’ story is part of the story from last season, when Danny came away with the Cherrey Cup, but Ethan hoisted the Sutherland Cup as part of the province’s top Junior B squad.
“Yeah, we obviously both want to win badly, everyone does, but it means a little more against your brother because it’s going to last forever,” said Ethan Skinner. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and we still have to win four games – nothing really changes, we just have to play good hockey.”
Elmira’s Skinner oneupped his brother’s goal by taking advantage of a loose puck in their defensive end and scoring on a shorthanded, unassisted breakaway to put the Kings on the board for the first time in the series.
“I kinda just got lucky. [Teammate Ethan] Wiseman had good pressure on the penalty kill, it just poked free and I shot to what was open,” Skinner said of the King’s first goal. “We’ve been really trying to just move on and continue to do the right things no matter what happened the shift or period before, and no matter what the score is.”
Shortly after, Wiseman scored his eighth of the postseason, from Jeremey Goodwin and Skinner with just 20 seconds to go, bringing the team within one.
The dynamic duo Goodwin brothers tied the game up in the third, Jeremey scoring after a great pass from Kurtis. But the 3-3 deadlock lasted only a few minutes before Listowel would round out the day’s scoring on the power play.
“The second game at home, we were off to a terrible start – they jumped all over us, and they are a tough team to crawl back from,” said Brown. “To come back from 3-0, we showed tremendous character in doing so, but we left it a little too late.”
Heading to Listowel Tuesday night, the Kings weren’t able to catch their stride despite coming back from being down 2-0.
Listowel’s Mitch Deelstra gave the Cyclones the lead in the first period, putting two past Rhett Kimmel, who was making just his second start in the playoffs.
The second period belonged to the Kings, however. Wiseman capitalized on a man-advantage, with assists going to Skinner and J. Goodwin. K. Goodwin tied the game up unassisted with less than three minutes left in the second.
Similar to previous games, Listowel pulled ahead in the third after the King’s took a penalty halfway through the frame. This would be the deciding factor, though the Cyclones added an empty-netter before the buzzer for a 4-2 final score.
Heading into Wednesday night, the Kings had little time to figure out how to win against a powerhouse like Listowel.
“I think we just have to piece it all together. That defensive mindset – the discipline for not taking penalties, but also positional discipline,” said Brown. “We want to play high energy, we want to play a high-pressure game, so if we can piece it all together and find a way against these guys, then that will give us the best opportunity.”
If the Kings solved the Cyclones Wednesday night, game five will go Friday night in Listowel. If needed, game six is Sunday night at the WMC and game seven back in Listowel Monday.
Even if the Kings prove unsuccessful in the Cherrey Cup battle, they’re still contenders for a wildcard spot in the Sutherland Cup competition, the same route the team took to victory last year.