Flyers drop games to Nats, Maroons

By C. Scott Holland

It is always a challenge for both London and Leamington to win games when they play each other and that rivalry was evident last Thursday here.

Sitting four points behind London going into the contest, the Flyers were looking for a victory and gain a bit of ground. Instead, they suffered a heartbreaking loss as the Nationals edged them 3-2 in front of 320 fans.

In Chatham on Saturday afternoon, the Flyers and Maroons were knotted 2-2 by the game’s midway point but three unanswered late second-period goals allowed Chatham to go head 5-2. A third period rally by Leamington fell short as Chatham held on for a 5-4 win.

On Thursday, goalies Ryan Polidori (Leamington) and Aiden Berry (London) showed their skills. Polidori halted 27 shots while Berry stopped 32.

The Flyers and Nationals played evenly in the opening frame. The Nationals drew first blood when Ryan Nichols’ powerplay shot from the edge of the net got past Polidori.

A mere 15 seconds elapsed before the Flyers roared back to knot the contest.

Noah Prudhomme and Blake McNally hooked up with Andrew Utero who unleashed a high screen shot.

Gavin Grundner then netted the handiwork of Connor and Ryan MacPherson. That tally vaulted the Flyers into a slim 2-1 lead.

London knotted the game late in the period when Logan Pace-Roth picked a rebound and beat Polidori.

Flyers’ goalie Ryan Polidori covers a loose puck as a Nationals’ player tries to dig it out from under him. while his Flyers teammates - Koen Taves (10), Kale Couvillon (4), Jack Cotter (18) and Colton O’Brien (68) help out.

Scott Holland photo

One of the keys to London winning the game occurred in the opening minute of the second.

The Nationals won the faceoff and penetrated the Flyers’ zone. League scoring leader Zach Power connected with Jeff Burridge to tab what would be the game-winning goal. That’s all they would need.

“I thought we played a good game,” said head coach Dale Mitchell. “We had many chances to even up the game late, but London is a good hockey team and if you give them chances they will make you pay.”

A second straight loss by the club has dropped them to fourth place in the standings as they battled hard against Chatham in the Maple City on Saturday afternoon.

Despite a late rally, they couldn’t net the equalizer during the game’s last 10 minutes.

Scoring for Leamington were Darby Lemieux, Connor MacPherson, Connor McCracken and Andrew Utero. Boe Piroski made 36 Flyers saves, while Luka Dobrich stopped 32 for the Maroons.

The loss dropped the Flyers’ record to 14-7 for 28 points — just a single point ahead of Chatham.