Admirals come up short against Flags and Blades
The Amherstburg Admirals have got some work to do.
This past weekend they came up short in a pair of Provincial Junior Hockey League Games. They lost 5-1 to the Mooretown Flags last Saturday night in Mooretown and the next night, in Blenheim, were beaten handily by the Blades, 5-2.
“One or two goals are not going to win you hockey games. We have to do a better job at that,” said Admirals’ head coach Paul Bortignon.
Amherstburg has now dropped three in a row and will try and get back on the winning trek this Saturday at the Libro Centre when they faceoff against the Dresden Kings.
“When you are 2-6, nobody is happy. Nobody is enjoying coming to the rink as much as they want to. We play Dresden at home and then hopefully we can string some wins together,” said Bortignon.
In their most recent game against the Kings, the Admirals came out on top with their best performance of the season this far, a big 7-3 win. Dresden won the season-opening game in Amherstburg 6-4.
Against Mooretown, rookie Mathew Gomes got his first of year in a penalty-filled tilt that saw Curtis Chamney receive a three-game suspension for slew-footing.
In Blenheim, the Blades crashed the net and got on the scoreboard just 31 seconds into the game. A spin-a-rama move by Amherstburg’s top sniper Parker Janisse tied it up but it only took the Blades less than a minute to regain the lead.
“That was maybe just a little bad luck,” said Bortignon, of the home team scoring early.
The Blades held a commanding 3-1 lead after the first period and there was no scoring in the middle frame. Blenheim once again struck quick in the third as they found the back of the net 59 seconds into the final period.
“That one in the third, we mishandled it. I don’t know if it’s a case of not being ready to go or just not making plays at the right time.”
In the third, Amherstburg captain Cale Marontate got his second of the season before Blenheim added an empty netter. A bit of a bright spot for the Admirals is that rookie Cooper Woodman tried to breath a bit of life into his team with some bursts of energy.
Amherstburg has added defenceman Riley Zanier who comes over from the Wheatley Sharks. The Admirals have been plagued with injuries on the blueline.
“I think it has been that way for eight games and it’s tough. The only consistency has been McCroy and Robinet,” said Bortignon.
Bortignon added to prepare for the Kings on Saturday the Admirals will concentrate on defensive zone responsibilities and back checking.
SLAPSHOTS… Xavier Gelinas has received a five-game suspension for an infraction in a recent game… Congratulations to Cale Marontate for winning the Ontario College Athletic Association golf championship… Second-year forward Brayden Hebert was recently named Player of the Month for September.
Admirals come up short against Flags and Blades
By Fred Groves
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