Leach and Russett lead the way in Admirals’ win over Walpole Island

Admirals forwards Cory Leach (10) and Finnigan Russett (18) crash the Walpole Island net last Saturday. Amherstburg won 6-1.

The Amherstburg Admirals started 2026 on a high note Saturday night, topping the Walpole Island 6-1.

Trailing 1-0 after the first period at the Libro Centre, the hosts quickly made some adjustments and got an excellent effort out of Cory Leach and Finnigan Russett.

“In that first period, we were a little shaky and we couldn’t capitalize. I don’t think we were moving and doing the little things right but we got it going in the second period,” said Leach.

A second-year forward, he scored once and assisted on another while Russett led the Admirals with a three-point performance, a goal and a couple of helpers.

With veterans Drew Booker, Evan MacPherson, and brothers Allan and Stefan Djordjevic out of the lineup, Admirals head coach Zack Gervais had to do some juggling.

“I slated them into the first line with Zach Vaillancourt and they did great. Those two, Leach and Russett, are really good friends,” said Gervais.

Both play aggressive but stay out of the penalty box. Leach now has 14 points on the year including nine goals while Russett, an assistant captain, has 12 points.

“He is one of my best buddies,” said Leach. “We know where each other is on the ice. We play well together.”

After trailing by a goal, the Admirals burst out of the dressing room and scored four unanswered to take a big 4-1 lead after 40 minutes. Rory Sandison got things going just 1:33 into the period before Brett Jones got the game winner from Russett and goalie Bennett Horrocks.

Also scoring for Amherstburg, which saw 13 different players hit the scoresheet, were Cale Marontate and rookie Brayden Hebert with his third.

“We didn’t start the way wanted to,” said Gervais of trailing early. “The team is starting to connect. We tweaked our forecheck over the break which helped.”

Snapping a three-game losing skid, which included a 4-2 loss to the Lakeshore Canadiens Dec. 23 at Lanspeary Park, the Admirals have got a big test coming up as they host the Canadiens Saturday, visit Essex Jan 13, and are in Harrow to take on Blenheim Jan. 15. All three of those teams are in the recent Top 10 of the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s Power Rankings.

With the win over the Wild, the Admirals now sit at 12-16-3-0. In their last five games they have only allowed eight goals.

SLAPSHOTS… With several forwards out of the lineup against the Wild, rookie defenceman Cameron Robinet was moved up front and was named the Admirals’ Player of the Game. Walpole Island’s Quinn Burke had a penalty shot in the third and clanged it off the iron behind Horrocks... Defenceman Jake Goudreault and forward Stefan Djordjevic will represent the Admirals at this Sunday’s All-Star game.

Leach and Russett lead the way in Admirals’ win over Walpole Island

By Fred Groves