For the 710 fans at the Nature Fresh Farms Complex last Thursday night October 2, they witnessed quite a Jr. A contest as the hometown Leamington Flyers thrashed the visiting Mississauga Chargers 8-1.
With both sides taking many penalties — most of which stemmed from flare ups where opposing players induced some five-finger exchanges — the game often had short bursts of talks between the refs and linesmen who tried to figure out which players got assessed time in the sin bin.
The Chargers lead the OJHL in penalty minutes and the Flyers reaped three powerplay goals and also had a shorthanded penalty shot goal. They built a 4-0 first period lead and expanded it to 7-0 after 40 minutes.
Flyers’ starter Gannon Hunter displayed some good form as he made numerous outstanding stops and turned aside 39 of 40 shots that came his way.
Mississauga starter Avery Alves lasted until 5:43 of the second when Michael Tamburro took over. Alves kept 16 of 21 Flyers shots out while Tamburro saved 17 of 20.
“Gannon was awesome tonight and kept it scoreless early in the first period, commented head coach Dale Mitchell. “I thought we had to battle special teams but in the end it helped to make us better down the road. We have a big game against Collingwood (Friday) to prove ourselves again.”
The Flyers’ penalty kill was at its finest, blanking the Chargers extra-man units with a zero for six mark for the contest while the Flyers went three for three on powerplays.
The Chargers pressed during the game’s opening minutes, but it was the Flyers who struck first. Jak Thiessen and Brayden Degelas hooked up with Tyler Ross who drove left to right, deked goalie Avery Alves and backhanded the goal.
Brendan Cooke was awarded a penalty shot at 9:28 when he was hauled down while attempting a shorthanded breakaway, while Jak Thiessen was serving a minor. Cooke went down the left lane and as he closed in on Alves, whipped a blazing shot into the lower left hand corner.
After a skirmish between the two clubs, Flyers Ethan Walker and Ethan Tatomir set up Erik Muxlow’s left lane blast which made it 3-0.
During the final minute of the first, Ashton Darocy found Ethan Walker open at the top of the slot and Walker unleashed a bullet screen shot which made it 4-0.
At 4:10 of the second, the Flyers continued their powerplay goal feast when Darocy and Braeden Lappalainen found Landon Pickersgill on the left side and Pickersgill’s blast bounded off Alves.
A minute later, the Chargers’ goalie was pulled and Michael Tamburro entered and played the rest of the game. Two quick Flyers’ goals coming 14 seconds apart added to the Flyers’ lead. Walker and Preston Otting slipped Bryce Belleau the puck and Belleau’s left side screen shot eluded everyone. On the heels of that goal, Walker connected for his second goal by flipping the puck past Tamburro while on the doorstep.
After an early third period Flyers’ penalty expired, Tatomir and Matthew Crawford went on a two-on-one breakaway with Crawford finishing off the scoring.
Hunter’s shutout bid was erased at 16:36 by a right lane rocket by Charger Isaiah Socha.
The goals by Belleau and Crawford were their first as OJHL players.
The Flyers traveled to Collingwood Friday night and battled the Blues in what was a very even match-up.
After a scoreless first period, Ethan Walker put the Flyers ahead 1-0 before the Blues tied it 90 seconds later.
Early in the third, the Blues took a 2-1 lead but the Flyers’ Adrian Bosev knotted the game at 12:57.
At 18:16, Erik Muxlow got a shot off as two defensemen tried to eliminate him from play. But Muxlow’s shot found the target for a 3-2 lead.
The Blues pulled goalie Hagan Bach for an extra attacker and found the Flyers’ defense too tough to gain the tying goal.
Tre Altiman, who was named the league’s goalie of the month for September, got the win – his sixth of the season – stopping 27 of 29 Blues’ shots.
Leamington hosts the Niagara Falls Canucks this Thursday, October 9 at 7:10 pm.
Want more Flyers coverage? Visit Southpoint Sun for the latest local sports news and updates. For the most up-to-date standings click here.
