The Mister Transmission Orillia Jr. B Kings have clawed their way back to a respectable 6-7 record on the season after a pair of impressive wins over the Newmarket Saints on the weekend.
The Kings started last week by dropping another nailbiter, losing 12-10 to the West Durham Ironheads. The game did not go the Kings' way early and by the end of the second period, they were down 10-4.
A change in philosophy on defence to start the third changed things in a big way. The Kings scored six times in the final frame after becoming much more aggressive in the defensive end.
Head coach Jim Meredith could be heard challenging the defence to pressure and challenge the ball carrier and the team marched to within one goal of the Ironheads before running out of time in the third period. A late goal made it 12-10 and the Kings suffered another close loss.
This marked the fourth time this season the team had lost a game by either one or two goals.
Jesse Ashkewe led the way for the Kings on the scoreboard with three goals and one assist. Colsen Maracle picked up a pair of goals while singles went to Gabe Neely, Alex May, Carson Thayer, and Sam Neely. Assists went to Brycen Murray (2), Jake Curran (2) Thayer, G. Neely, S. Neely, and Ben Tibbett picked up his first point as a King in his debut. Quinton Greenfield played well, but took the loss in net.
Saturday and Sunday the Kings had a home-and-home series with the Newmarket Saints and picked up a pair of victories.
On Saturday, to the delight of the home crowd at Orillia's Rotary Place and all of the alumni in attendance on Alumni Appreciation Night, the Kings downed the Saints 15-4 with a very young lineup.
Gabe Neely led the way on the scoresheet with four goals and a pair of assists. Curran, Ty Ross, Ashkewe and Brycen Murray picked up a pair of goals each. Zeke Neely, in his first game as a King, picked up his first goal on Saturday night. Tanner Thayer also picked up his first points as a King with three assists in the contest. Devun Colebrook, another U17 callup, also picked up an assist on the night. Greenfield and Chase Beiers shared goaltending duties in the win.
In the rematch on Sunday, the Kings defeated the Saints 10-5. Alex May and Colsen Maracle led the team on the scoresheet with a pair of goals each. Singles went to Murray, Carson Thayer, Curran, Gabe Neely, Ross and Tanner Thayer picked up his first goal at the junior level. Gabe Neely had three assists, Hayden Goldthorp had a pair of assists as did Curran and Ross. Chase Beiers picked up the win in net.
"The guys came out hot on the weekend and didn’t let off after we made some defensive changes on Wednesday," said Ty Ross. "A mix of confidence and support from the fans helped motivate the team in the big win."
Ross said he is grateful to see the team improve.
"We are definitely improving each game, learning from our mistakes and pushing ourselves to get better each practice," said Ross. "The encouragement from the coaching staff has definitely played a major part in the development of the team this year."
Coach Jim Meredith agreed.
"If we compare us with the team we were last year we have closed the gap between us and the upper tier of Jr. B," said Meredith. "Both games with Orangeville, with the Gaels, and Halton are proof that we are headed in the right direction."
The bench boss lamented the team's four narrow defeats.
"If we had done a few things differently in those games we would be 10-3 instead of 6-7. As we get healthy, our rookies and (affiliated) U17 players gain experience we should be a team to stay away from in the playoffs," Meredith vowed.
"As coaches we, too, are refining our style. An example of this would be our defence," said Meredith. "Earlier this year we were more about stopping goals and now we are trying to use our defence to start our offence by putting more pressure on the ball and trying to create more turnovers.
"We are taking small steps forward and achieving more success each night out," said Meredith.
The Kings have two home games this weekend: Saturday at 7 p.m. in Rama, the Kings will take on Gloucester and Sunday at 2 p.m. the Kings will face the Nepean Knights, the defending Founders Cup champions.
The Kings are currently without the services of Braedan Lockyer-Fagan and Ashton Twyman, who the team hopes to have back in the lineup soon.
Officials are grateful for the community's support as attendance at the home games has been outstanding.
