Flyers subject to Kings' rule on home ice

By C. Scott Holland

It was an uncharacteristic performance by the Leamington Flyers Thursday night, Nov. 11, as the visiting Komoka Kings ruled over them and got a 5-2 victory. The home ice defeat is a rarity these days at the Nature Fresh Farms Arena and it came after the Flyers had battled back to knot the game near its midway point.

Despite the loss, the team bounced back with a strong defensive effort on Saturday as they travelled to Sarnia where they defeated the Legionnaires 3-1.

The overall performance on Thursday night was a letdown for the 421 fans in attendance who weren’t used to seeing so many odd-man rushes and turnovers.

Until that midway mark, the two teams had played a fairly close game, often trading physical checks and short bursts of time attacking in the other’s end zone.

The Kings got on the scoreboard first at 1:03 of the opening frame when Adam Zuckerman was in the slot area and rifled a high shot that found the Flyers’ net.

Komoka’s Will K. Lewis gave the Flyers a late first-period powerplay opportunity when he was caught for a high sticking infraction during the frame’s final minute. As his penalty was about to expire early in the second, teammate Easton Cowan intercepted a Flyers’ pass at his own blueline and raced in on a breakaway. When Cowan neared Flyers’ starter Ryan Polidori, he deked then spun around to bank a backhand shot which made it 2-0. His shorthanded marker was of a highlight reel variety.

Flyers’ starter Ryan Polidori moves to smother the puck in the second period. Kings’ player Matthew Gough is perched on his doorstep.

Scott Holland photo

The Flyers began their surge as Jason Daraiche and Colton O’Brien connected with Blake McNally, whose left side shot banked into the net off goalie Omar Hage’s goal stick at 4:24 of the second.

Suddenly it looked as though the momentum had changed and the Flyers had regained their high quality of play.

At 9:30, Andrew Uturo and Sylvain Lessard hooked up with Wyatt O’Neil who moved into the slot and unleashed a shot on net that caught Hage falling off guard and it was tied 2-2.

With the contest knotted at two apiece and just over a minute after the Flyers had gained the equalizer, an odd-man rush by Komoka turned a 2-on-1 break into a 3-2 lead. Matthew Gough took a Cowan pass and netted the go-ahead tally.

Just 18 seconds later, a giveaway allowed Kings’ player Jakson McLlwain to notch the fourth marker.

In the third, despite putting 11 shots on net, the Flyers’ offense was stymied and could not draw any closer. As a last resort, Polidori was lifted for an extra attacker with 1:40 left, but once again the Kings kept any Flyers’ attack minimal and Zuckerman added his second of the game as he shoveled a loose puck into the empty Flyers’ net at 18:51.

In Sarnia on Saturday night, the Flyers and Legionnaires were scoreless after 20 minutes of action. But Connor MacPherson’s cannon drive on a powerplay opportunity near the game’s midway point vaulted the Flyers into the lead. At 16:37, while cruising down the left lane, Noah Prudhomme deftly rifled the puck into the Legionnaires’ net and it was a 2-0 contest.

It stayed that way until the late in the third when Ryan Richardson jammed a loose puck past Flyers’ goalie Boe Piroski.

With just under two minutes remaining and a faceoff in the Flyers’ zone, Sarnia called a timeout and lifted goalie Ethan Everaert for an extra attacker.

The move backfired at 19:44 when Connor MacPherson’s long shot zipped into the open net to give the Flyers a 3-1 victory.

Piroski halted 28 shots, while his Sarnia counterpart stopped 30.

Flyers Schedule: Thurs. Nov. 18 versus St. Marys at 7:10 p.m.; Sat. Nov. 20 at Komoka.