Flyers thump first-place Nationals, top Komoka

By C. Scott Holland

A crowd of 775 watched the second-place Leamington Flyers and firstplace London Nationals engage in a hard-fought battle last Thursday, Dec. 15, but after 20 minutes it was evident that it was going to be an all-Flyers affair.

Leamington took a 4-0 lead and won the contest 6-1, but not until after both sides had let the skill portion of the contest deteriorate into a series of penalties – most of which were head contact calls.

They followed that with a 6-2 win in Komoka on Saturday.

After Thursday’s game, head coach Dale Mitchell summed up his team’s performance.

“The game was a great team effort,” he said. “We came out from the first puck drop and were committed to our game play plan. LaRue, Scarlett and Grundner’s line really stepped up and executed on their plays.”

In the opening frame last Thursday night, so many of those ‘little things’ were evident with crisp passing, good puck control, solid defensive work and some timely shooting. Even the latest addition to the Flyers, Owen Holmes, who was acquired a few days prior to the game, fit well into the overall play.

After some speedy back- and-forth action during the first 10 minutes, Thomas Grossi hooked up with Hayden Reid who went deep into the Nats’ left corner and threw a pass out into the slot where Cody Brekke rifled a shot that eluded London starter Aiden Berry.

Barely half a minute elapsed before the Flyers struck again. Trevor LaRue won a faceoff and drew the puck back to Griffin Grundner, who unleashed a rocket shot that found the target. Anthony Ciaramitaro and Nick Mahy created a slick passing play that ended with Bryce Scarlett whipping the rubber past Berry.

From a faceoff to Berry’s left, LaRue and Scarlett backhanded the puck to Grundner, who drilled his second of the game to spot Leamington a 4-0 lead.

Flyers’ starter Bryce Walcarius’ lone blemish occurred at 1:15 of the second period when the Flyers had a man advantage. London’s Bradyn Santavy intercepted a Flyers’ pass and raced down the right wing on a breakaway and beat Walcarius.

The Nats played musical goaltenders during the later stages of the contest as starter Berry was lifted and replaced by callup Nathan Fahri, who got beat on a two-on-one play by Leamington as Mahy sent Bryce Scarlett on a left lane breakaway.

Ahead 5-1, the remainder of the second was a series of penalties, many of which were coincidentals.

The final Flyers’ tally came at 2:45 of third when Connor MacPherson feathered a pass to Hayden Reid who gunned into the London net.

The Flyers’ defense was so effective that starter Walcarius made only 23 saves, while Berry turned aside 38 shots and Fahri stopped nine.

In Komoka on Saturday night, the Flyers took a 3-1 lead after one period and never looked back as they won 6-2.

Flyers’ newcomer Owen Homes scored his first two Flyers’ goals to lead the scoring parade. Gabe Piccolo, Jack Cotter, Ryan MacPherson and Cody Brekke fired one goal apiece. Starter Boe Piroski picked up the victory while stopping 11 of 13 shots. Both Komoka goals came on powerplays. With the victory, the Flyers moved into second-place — two points behind London and two ahead of St. Marys with a 22-6-3. They have one home and one away game before the Christmas break.

Next game: Thurs. Dec. 22 vs. Sarnia Legionnaires at 7:10 p.m.

In last Thursday night’s game against the London Nationals the Flyers applied immense pressure to the Nats’ defense and starting goalie Aiden Berry. Here, Owen Holmes, the latest Flyers’ addition (left), has his shot stopped by Berry, while linemates Ryan and Connor MacPherson converge on the London net. The Flyers won the contest 6-1 with 775 fans in attendance.