12 March 3, 2012 - ObserverXtra

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012
Kings split final pair to end the season
Loss a good thing, says coach, who was happy to see players get grounded before heading into the playoffs
colin dewar
The Elmira Sugar Kings
split the weekend ending
their regular season,
winning at home over the
visiting Stratford Cullitons
Sunday but losing a tightlyfought
game the night before
in Brantford. That, however,
is exactly what head coach
Dean DeSilva was hoping for.
“Honestly, it was probably
the best thing that could
have happened. The way I
look at it is that we had won
10 games in a row and, as a
coach, I wanted to go into
the playoffs with at least one
more loss just to ground us,”
said DeSilva. “I know it was
important to get first place
but I am alright with our
result this season. During
the year we won a number
of games in a row and we got
too high and I really wanted
these guys to be grounded
going into the playoffs.”
The Kings (40-9-2) in fact
finished the season in third
place in the Midwestern
Conference behind Stratford
(41-9-1) and the first-place
Brantford Golden Eagles
(41-7-3).
The weekend got rolling
with a visit to Brantford Feb.
25. The Kings got on the
board first when Andrew
Smith scored during a powerplay
that had Eagles’ forward
Brett Appio in the box
for crosschecking.
“We had an outstanding
first period. We played really
well, but we lost all that after
the second and we became
undisciplined and took some
second when defenceman
Sam Patterson stripped
Elmira defender Mac Clustsam
at the side of the Kings’
goal. Patterson put a shot
on goal that produced a
rebound his linemate Caleb
Cameron lifted over netminder
Nick Horrigan’s left
pad.
Elmira finally got on the
board when team captain
Colton Wolfe-Sabo, off a
feed from his linemate
Brad Kraus, fired a onetimer
from the blue line
that squeezed past Cyclone
goalie Michael Pesendorfer.
“Listowel did what we
thought they would, they
came out flying. We had a
little bit of jitters, but that
is to be expected: we have
some young guys that have
never gone through this before
and four very key guys
out of the lineup. I am not
sure any team in the league
penalties and sat back a little
bit,” said Desliva. “At the end
of the first we were up 1-0
and by the end of the second
we were down 2-1.”
The second frame was all
Brantford as they outshot
and outscored the Kings.
Eagles’ forward Mike Riley
would find the back of the
net six minutes into the
period to tie the game, with
Brantford’s Mike Rebry scoring
the second of the frame
as time wound down.
The Kings opened things
up in the third, scoring the
tying goal in the last minute
with netminder Nick Horrigan
on the bench in favour of
an extra attacker.
With the game tied at two
apiece the teams played
through OT then headed
kinGs: Team overcomes a slow start, missing players to post
a 5-2 win over Listowel Cyclones to get the playoff ball rolling
from | COVER could have those players out
and still compete as hard
Elmira’s Andrew Smith is knocked to the ice by Culliton defenceman Mike Pleon while heading to the net during first period action Feb. 26
at the Dan Snyder Arena. The Kings emerged 4-1 victors over Stratford. [colIn Dewar / the observer]
as our guys did,” said head
coach Dean DeSilva following
the game.
Returning to the ice after
the first intermission the
Kings went back to their
game as Listowel stuttered,
allowing the Kings to score
three unanswered goals in
the period.
Brady Campbell got
things rolling, beating
Pesendorfer with chip over
the glove at 7:26 to tie the
game at two.
Three minutes later Brett
Priestap would break away
down the ice from deep
in the Kings’ zone during
a Cyclone powerplay and
score a shorthanded goal to
give Elmira the lead for the
first time.
“I managed to intercept
the puck and blew past the
defenceman – I chipped it
ahead and got a breakaway
and managed to score. I was
to a shootout that saw both
goalies put in strong performances,
but the Eagles came
away 3-2 winners.
“It was good game and
the guys played well. The
bounces could have gone
either way and we will learn
from it and go forward from
there,” said DeSilva.
The next night the Kings
played host to the Stratford
Cullitons at the Dan Snyder
Arena, skating to a much
easier 4-1 victory in front of
1,254 fans.
“We want to play tough at
home and make it a tough
building to play in – it was
important to bounce back
from the game the other
night,” said DeSilva. “We
have been telling the guys
that everything has been like
pretty fired up about the
goal,” said Priestap after the
game.
Priestap would end the
period notching another
goal, giving the Kings a 4-2
lead heading back to the
room.
“I was actually trying
to pass to (Andrew Smith)
when the puck bounced
off the defenceman’s stick
and through the goalie’s
legs, so I got lucky on there
– I didn’t plan on that one,”
said Priestap. “We are just
excited to be playing playoff
hockey. Some the guys
went all the way last year
to the Sutherland Cup and
perhaps we got just a little
too excited at first, but we
settled and focused on our
game plan.”
The Kings hit two posts
early in the third period and
were unable to squeeze the
rubber past Pesendorfer
until defenceman Brodie
Whitehead fired a wrist shot
a playoff series for the last
couple of weeks. We had an
emotional game one night
and you have to play the next
night how are you going to
react that is going to make
the difference. I want my
guys to react to that kind of
thinking. That is the kind
of mentality that we have
been trying to prepare for
the playoffs for the last two
weeks.”
Stratford drew first blood
when forward Brock Reynolds
beat Horrigan with a
chip over the glove at 4:48
but it would be the last of
the night for the Cullitons,
as Elmira would score four
unanswered goals.
Elmira’s Lukas Baleshta
tied in the first when Will
Cook picked up the rubber
from just outside the crease
beating the tender high to
the right side and giving
Elmira its fifth goal of the
night.
“In the playoffs, things
are going to happen; we
can’t control the bounces
but you have to stick to
what your game plan is and
not panic, and that is what
our guys did tonight. The
leaders lead and lead by
example. Guys like Priestap,
Campbell and Scott Nagy
lead by example and the
rest of the guys just followed
in and we stuck with what
we had to do,” said DeSilva.
Up 1-0, the Kings head
to the Listowel Memorial
Arena Friday for game 2 of
the series. DeSilva expects
to be able to put a full and
healthy team back on the
ice for the Kings’ next home
game at the Woolwich
Memorial Centre on Sunday,
when the puck drops
at 7 p.m.
at the blue line and send a
beautiful pass to Scott Nagy
who was skating to the net
only to pass to Baleshta at
the last second and catching
Cullitons’ netminder Taylor
Dupuis off guard.
Returning in the second
Elmira was on the scoreboard
early when Brad Kraus
beat Dupuis with a one-timer
giving the Kings a 2-1 lead.
Cass Frey and Nagy collected
the assists.
The remainder of the period
would see both teams
with good chances only to
be denied by the goaltenders
who mustered up both skill
and luck to keep the game
close going into the third.
Kings forward Patrick
McKelvie gave the boys in
green a 3-1 lead just over four
minutes into the third frame
when he beat Dupuis on the
stick side.
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Smith made it 4-1 when
he scored during a man on
advantage that had Culliton
Calvin Thomson in the box
for crosschecking.
With the regular season
over the Kings prepared to
face the Listowel Cyclones
in the first round of playoffs
that started Wednesday
night. DeSilva knows it’s a
whole new season when it
comes to the playoffs.
“Over seven games anything
can happen. It is learning
to play through that adversity,
learning to deal with
unexpected moments like
referees missing calls – we
are going to make bad plays
but we just have to keep the
bus in the right path and not
get off,” said DeSilva. “We
will be prepared for them
and I am confident if we play
our game we will do just
fine.”
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