The Orillia Mister Transmission Jr. B Kings used excellent penalty killing and a third period surge to defeat the host Mimico Mountaineers 11-8 in Jr. B lacrosse action this week.
In a first period that ended 3-3, Kings forward Jesse Ashekwe led the attack with two goals, followed by one from Liam McCrimmon.
In the second period, Gabe Neely and Zach Gignac found the net and McCrimmon notched two more as the teams played to a 7-7 draw after two frames.
In the third, the Kings found themselves in penalty trouble early. The Mountaineers ended up with two, five-minute power plays and an opportunity to steal the game. However, Orillia’s man-short unit outworked Mimico and managed to keep them off the scoresheet. The Kings managed to outscore Mimico 4-1 in the third to seal the victory.
Noah Quarrington demonstrated why he is the captain of this young team on Wednesday night. He played an inspirational game, leading by example throughout the entire game and picking up an incredible breakaway goal in the final frame.
Gignac played what might have been his best game so far as a King, picking up two goals in the final frame and chasing down a Mountaineer to end a breakaway opportunity for the other team.
Ethan Marwick sealed the victory with an incredible individual effort, showing off his speed to beat a Mimico defender to the net while short-handed and slipping one past the goalie for the final goal of the night.
It is worth noting that the Kings defenders only gave up one power play goal on 20 minutes of penalties, while goalie Quinton Greenfield repeatedly shut down a strong Mimico offence with his stellar performance between the pipes.
Zack Gignac earned the Dapper Depot player of the game award for his work as both he and McCrimmon picked up hat tricks and two assists each.
Coach Jim Meredith says it was "a nice win" for the team that was short a few players.
"A positive was how we took over in the third. We did a lot of smart things adapting to the team we were playing," Meredith said.
The coach lamented that Orillia "took a few too many penalties that were probably due to being over zealous." He said the players need to learn to better channel that energy into positive outcomes.
"Hopefully we have turned a bit of a corner and can put a few wins together and get into a higher position in the standings," said Meredith.
With the win, Orillia improved to 3-6-1 on the season as they look to work their way into playoff contention. The Kings next see action at home when Newmarket pays an 8 p.m. visit to Rotary Place on May 28.
