KINGS WIN A PAIR IN WEEKEND ACTION
After defeating Stratford and Brampton, team runs record to 4-2, good enough for third place
IT WAS A PERFECT fourpoint weekend for the Elmira Sugar Kings as they outskated both Stratford and Brampton, giving them a 4-2 record two weeks into the 2016-17 season.
They sit tied for third place with Waterloo and Kitchener, who also hold 4-2 records. Listowel is in first at 7-0. Guelph has second place, having gone 6-1 thus far.
The Kings narrowly beat the Stratford Warriors 5-4 on Sept. 23, their second win over the team this season.
Klayton Hoelscher got things rolling in the first for the Kings, assisted by Blair Butchart and Zack Cameron. Stratford’s Noah Benjamin, helped by Jack Scanlan and Anthony Kotsovos quickly tied the game less than two minutes later.
Elmira’s Andrew McIntyre gave his team the lead at 14:02 in the first, assisted by Jake Brown and Ethan Skinner, but Stratford’s Justin Graham (Keaton Ratcliffe) evened the score again.
The Kings got to work, scoring twice more in the first 20 minutes with goals from captain Jeff Jordan (Quinten Bruce, Skinner) and Skinner (MacIntyre, Matt Murray) to finish the period 4-2 for Elmira.
The second frame saw much less action between the pipes. The Warriors scored once on a shot from Brent West, helped in by Curtis Abbott and Rob Grant. Benjamin (Trevor Dulong) scored again in the third period to tie things up 4-4.
Brown came through for Elmira, putting back a top corner shot on a breakaway while shorthanded to give his team the 5-4 win.
Kings goalie Jonathan Reinhart stopped 32 shots to Stratford goalie Sam Dallas’ 40.
They returned to the WMC on Sept. 25, where they hosted the Brampton Bombers, winning 4-1.
Adel Zivojevic put Brampton on the board first at 7:31. Brandan Fisher was the helper. But they wouldn’t score again as Elmira knocked back four goals from Murray (Brown) in the first, Kyle Soper (Hoelscher, Slegers) in the second and Slegers (Jordan, Skinner) and Jacob Black (Spencer Comelli, Keanan Stewart) in the third.
Forward Ty Biles went off in the second period after knocking out part of one of his front teeth. The
game had to be stopped shortly for referees to find the piece of tooth on the ice. Trainer Becky Brubacher assessed the situation before he returned with a full face mask to play the rest of the game.
Comelli is a recent addition to the Kings. The defenseman played for the Pelham Panthers last season and the beginning of the 2016-17 season. At 6’6”, he’s three inches taller than any of the other Sugar Kings. Slegers and Stewart stand at 6’3”.
The team is off to Guelph tonight (Sept. 29) to play the Hurricanes. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. They’ll be back on home ice on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. against the Kitchener Dutchmen.