Flyers split first two round-robin contests; three teams tied at 1-1

By C. Scott Holland

As of Sunday, the Sutherland Cup roundrobin series has seen some twists and turns.

The stage had been set on Friday night when the Flyers beat the Stratford Warriors 6-1 in Stratford.

But on Sunday night they returned home and presented local fans with a rather untypical effort. The sharpness of their defense had vanished and Hamilton outlasted the Flyers to win 5-4. All three teams now have a 1-1 record.

In Stratford, the fireworks began eight minutes into the contest when Hayden Reid and Billy Van Sumeren set up Trevor LaRue’s left side bullet. Towards the end of the first period, the Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Van Sumeren lifted a shot past Stratford starter Owen Willmore while on the doorstep.

In the second period the Flyers doubled their output with two powerplay tallies while Stratford notched their lone goal on a powerplay late in the frame. Connor MacPherson tipped in the third goal and Ryan MacPherson connected on a left side screen shot at 16:53.

The Flyers’ third period was much like the second and began with Connor MacPherson doing a powerplay tap at 4:44.

At 18:13, Hayden Reid launched a right lane rocket shot that sailed past Willmore to make it a 6-1 final.

Heading into Sunday’s game, head coach Dale Mitchell said, “I am really happy with how we played (in Stratford.) We knew they had a great home record and it would be tough to play somewhere we are not accustomed to. Our players came out and executed the game plan we drew up. Everyone played their role and stepped up when we needed them. Everyone is buying into the process we set out before playoffs and we are just taking it one game at a time.”

Sunday’s contest featured some offside calls that were anything but — much to the dismay of Flyers’ fans.

The Hamilton Kilty B’s appeared hungry for a win, which they got as they defeated the Flyers 5-4.

Hamilton struck first at 1:49 as call-up Tyler Hopkins received a gift of an open side of the Flyers’ net and starter Bryce Walcarius down on the play.

The Flyers managed to even the score at 1-1 when Ryan MacPherson found brother Connor, who jammed the puck past Hamilton starter David Egorov.

In the second, the Kilty B’s bounced back into the lead as they netted a powerplay goal at 4:46 but the resilient Flyers knotted the game with one minute left to play in the middle stanza when Trevor LaRue used a scramble in front of Egorov to beat the netminder.

A strange play ended with Hamilton going ahead once more. A cross-ice pass from near a corner was deflected past Walcarius by Justin Montieth and Hamilton regained the edge.

Despite the Flyers’ offense struggling to generate good scoring chances, at 12:06, while on a powerplay Griffin Grundner and Connor MacPherson hooked up with Cody Brekke who drilled a shot from the top of the slot past Egorov and gave the Flyers new life.

But that life was snuffed quickly as the Flyers allowed Nathan Omeri to skate into their end and completely circle the net then head to the right of the slot and unleash a shot that evaded Walcarius.

With nearly two minutes left in the third, Walcarius was lifted for an extra attacker but Dawson McKinney got an empty-net goal for a 5-3 lead. On an ensuing powerplay opportunity, the Flyers’ Colin Holmes rifled a goal from the top of the slot to narrow the lead to 5-4. Despite having 40 seconds to obtain the equalizer, the Flyers could not get the marker they needed.

The Flyers will host Stratford on Thursday, April 20 at 7:10 pm and visit Hamilton for the final round-robin game Sunday, April 23 at 5:10 pm.

Flyer forward Cody Brekke’s shot eludes Hamilton goalie David Egorov to tie the game at 3-3 midway through the third period on Sunday night in Leamington. Hamilton marched down and regained the lead moments later. The Flyers lost the game 5-4 before 1,172 fans and sit at 1-1 going into Thursday’s home game versus Stratford. SUN photo