It was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of weekend for the Amherstburg Admirals this past weekend as they split a pair of Provincial Junior Hockey League games.
The Admirals were blasted 8-2 in Mooretown Saturday night and less than 24 hours later rebounded to beat visiting Dresden Kings 5-1 at the Libro Centre.
Leading the way for the winners, who picked up their seventh win of the season was Ryan Dufour who notched a pair of tallies and was named the first star of the game.
“It was a new night, we turned it around,” said Dufour comparing the back-to-back games. “We didn’t take the opportunities last night but tonight we were a lot better and we got it done.”
Last year he suited up for the Amherstburg U18 Stars and as of late has been showing exceptional offensive skills. His first goal Sunday against the Kings was a result of a perfect tape-to-tape pass from linemate Owen Papulkas and for his encore he raced down the wing and put a nifty move on Dresden goalie Joseph Malinowski.
“I made the team as a defenceman. When we were short of guys and we needed a forward I kind of stepped up. It’s good and I’m getting used to it. I haven’t played forward in years,” said Dufour.
Against Dresden, Amherstburg led 1-0 after the first period and it was 3-0 after 40 minutes. Also scoring for the Admirals were Drake McGowan, Jacob Archer and Dallas Kelly. Josh Courtney made 20 saves in net for the hosts.
Both teams scored on the powerplay and the Admirals had to be diligent on the penalty kill late in the game as they took a lot of penalties.
With the playoffs looming on the horizon, Amherstburg coach Beau Hunter knows how important each win is and beating Dresden who they are neck-and-neck within the standings could be a big factor come the post-season.
“This was a big weekend. We wanted to get a point at least off of Mooretown. We didn’t but this (against the Kings) was a must win,” said Hunter.
Veteran defenceman Jaydn Brown did not play against the Kings as he was handed a two-game suspension for an incident in Mooretown. That means that Stefan Jacobs is the lone Admiral to have played in all 32 games thus far.
Saturday night in Mooretown, the host Flags bombarded Courtney with 27 first period shots on route to a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.
It was 6-1 after two periods in a penalty-filled affair that saw the Admirals whistled for 48 minutes in penalties and 27 minutes for Mooretown. The Flags took advantage of their man-advantage situations, netting three powerplay goals as well as one shorthanded.
“Every loss there is something we could have done. I know we aren’t going to win every game but when things are in your hands that are causing problems, then that is where the issue is,” said Hunter after Saturday’s game versus the Kings.
Scoring for Amherstburg were Kelly and Allan Djordjevic.
SLAPSHOTS:… Ten games remaining in the regular season schedule for the Admirals including Saturday night when they play host to the Blenheim Blades with a puck drop time being 7:30 p.m…Papulkas has at least one point in the last seven games… Big Happy Birthday on Sunday to Admirals assistant equipment manager Dillon Bezaire.
By Fred Groves
Comments