The Penetang Kings kept up the pressure on the Alliston Hornets over the weekend, posting decisive wins in Georgian Bay Mid-Ontario Junior C Hockey League regular season action.
The Kings maintained a hold on a share of first place, posting wins over the Stayner Siskins and Midland Atlas Block Flyers by scores of 4-2 and 10-1 respectively.
In the Nov. 1 road win in Stayner, Greg Cerilli, Aaron Duval, Brad Baum and Evan Cole each tallied single markers. After Penetang jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, Stayner roared back with a pair, to pull even at 2-2 after 20 minutes of play.
Baum and Cole scored in the second period to close out the scoring. Kevin Imhoff, Kelly Loughran, Graig Speers and Chris Daniels added assists.
Penetang held a 37-24 edge in shots, with Cole and Loughran picking up major penalties.
On Friday at the Penetanguishene Arena, the Kings jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Midland, en route to the 10-1 victory. The Kings followed up with five unanswered markers in the second period to take a commanding 9-1 lead.
Cory Hastings led the Kings offensively with two goals and three assists, while Aaron Duval also enjoyed a five-point evening with one goal and four assists. Shane Wright netted two goals, while Graig Speers, Kevin Imhoff, Kelly Loughran, Ryan Geisler and Adam Heskamp added single goals.
Duval was named the first star in the game, with Marc Smith earning the second-star selection for Midland.
Caleb Wiles scored the lone goal for Midland. Penetang outshot Midland 45-19 in the contest, with Cory Moore picking up the goaltending win. Tyler Bly started in net for Midland and was replaced after the first period by Ryan Valentine. The two teams combined for 28 minutes in penalties, in a game watched by over 520 fans at the Penetanguishene Arena.
Also on Friday, Alliston posted a 4-0 win over the Erin Shamrocks.
Saturday at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Complex, Midland dropped a 4-3 decision to the Fergus Devils.
After Midland’s Ben Raney opened the scoring, Fergus responded with two goals to take a 2-1 lead. Caleb Wiles and A.J. Maugeri then responded to give Midland a 3-2 lead midway through the second period. But second- and third-period markers by Fergus sealed the win for the Devils.
Tyler Bly was tagged with the goaltending loss, while Raney was named the first star of the game for Midland.
Following weekend action, little has changed at the top of the league standings.
Alliston (13-1-0-0) and Penetang (13-2-0-0) are tied with 26 points, although the Hornets have one game in hand. Fergus (10-3-0-1) holds down second place with 21 points, followed by Midland (6-10-1-0) with 13 points. The Flyers are a mere one point ahead of Erin (6-9-0-0). Stayner (3-11-0-0) and Schomberg (0-14-1-0) have six and one point respectively.
Nov. 8, the Penetang Kings travel to Stayner to face the Siskins at 8:30 p.m. The following night, Midland travels to Alliston to battle the Hornets at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 9 at 8:30 p.m. the Penetang Kings host the Erin Shamrocks at the Penetanguishene Arena.
