Goaltending continues to shine for Admirals despite losses

As the Amherstburg Admirals continue to struggle offensively, a bright light is beginning to shine on its two rookie goaltenders.

In their last three games, Bennett Horrocks and Landon Dimitroff have allowed just four goals.

Last Wednesday night in Wheatley, 16-year-old Dimitroff made 39 saves, recording his first junior hockey shutout in a 2-0 win over the Sharks.

“He was good. It was his first shutout ever,” said Admirals head coach Zack Gervais.

Amherstburg's Jayden Seguin (14, left) looks for the puck near the Blenheim goal as does the Blades' Brad McAlpine (9, right) Dec. 20 at the Libro Centre. Blenheim won 2-1.

Dimitroff was once again the first star of the game last Saturday night at the Libro Centre, stopping 40 from the West Stobbs Division second place Blenheim Blades in a 2-1 loss.

The following night back in Blenheim, it was Horrocks’ chance to shine and he backed the Admirals to a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Blades. He made 24 saves. At the other end of the rink, former Admirals goalie Russell Vaughan got the win, making 29 saves.

With the overtime loss, the Admirals now sit at 11-15-3-0 which they took to Lanspeary Park in Windsor Tuesday night in an outdoor game against the Lakeshore Canadiens.

While the young goalies continue to be the bright spots, Gervais once again voiced his frustration with a lack of offence.

“That (Blenheim) is a team that knows what it takes when the game is on the line, they turn it up. When the game is on the line for us, we take a beating instead of giving a beating,” said Gervais.

It was scoreless after the first last Saturday and deadlocked 1-1 after 40 minutes. Second-year forward Rory Sandison did what he does best, going to the front of the net to get his seventh of the year. Blenheim crashed the net and, following a scrum in front of Dimitroff, got the winner with less than two minutes to play.

“We were 0-for-5 on the powerplay. We had some great opportunities. Flat out, we’ve got a lot of selfish hockey players,” said Gervais.

Rookie defenceman Holden Wiley and forward Brayden Hebert played physical all night with Wiley blocking a shot late in the game.

Amherstburg goalie Landon Dimitroff makes a save against Blenheim in the Dec. 20 game at the Libro Centre.

Gervais said there is a difference between the Admirals and the three top teams - Essex, Lakeshore and Blenheim.

“Those three teams compete. They know what it takes to win. They go that extra inch and we refuse to go that extra inch.”

The Admirals scored first on a powerplay goal by blueliner Luka Milsoveic in Blenheim Sunday night. Former Admirals forward Stefan Jacobs helped set up the winner for the Blades in overtime.

The Provincial Junior Hockey League (Jr. C) is off for a few days and following the holiday break, the Admirals will host the Walpole Island Wild Jan. 3. Puck drop at the Libro Centre is 7:30 p.m.

SLAPSHOTS: Jacobs leads the Blades in scoring with 36 points including 13 goals… Former Amherstburg defenceman MJ Schwager was a linesman in Saturday night’s game.

By Fred Groves