Shield picks up first two wins of season.
THAT’S IN. A Shelburne Red Wings player shoves a Muskoka Shield player into the net after a goal by the home team. The Shield defeated the Red Wings 10-5 at the Gravenhurst Centennial Centre arena on Friday, Sept. 14.
Bev McMullen
BRACEBRIDGE - The South Muskoka Shield offence came to life in their second game of the season and the Gravenhurst-based Greater Metro Junior A hockey club road the hot sticks to two straight wins this past weekend.
On Sept. 14, the first of two straight home games on the weekend, the Shield welcomed the Shelburne Red Wings in and immediately began peppering the netminder. Almost 20 shots on net in the opening period resulted in three goals for the home team, while the Wings kept pace with two of their own. Shield forward Ryan Miller got his first points of the year, nailing the game’s first goal just two minutes into the game and added a helper on newly acquired Martin Srpek’s first career Shield goal to take a 3-2 lead into the middle frame.
Adam Loeffelman, Shield veteran Brandon Luksa and Wade Weisgerber added majors in the second to only one by the Red Wings for a 6-3 game headed into the third.
Hungry for their first victory after losing the season opener to new rivals the Phantoms a game earlier, South Muskoka kept the pressure up and potted four more goals, including two in the third by new Shield player Andrey Novikov, who was the game’s first star, for a 10-5 final.
The Orangeville Americans were the next to roll in this weekend, taking the centennial centre ice Sept. 15 without a whole lot more luck than the Red Wings. The Shield continued their hot offensive ways, even if it took a little more time to come to the boil.
Orangeville controlled the pace from the opening faceoff, and although the Shield’s Jalen Berning broke free for an unassisted marker to open scoring 1-0 for the home side, it was Orangeville that road a 3-1 advantage into the third period after knotting it up late in the first and going ahead with two unanswered markers in the second.
Coming out in the third, Novikov once more took over the game and about five minutes into the frame, only about 30 seconds apart, he drew his club even at three-all with two straight goals.
Halfway through the final frame the Shield pulled ahead after a costly Americans penalty opened the door for Joey Verreijen to pick up a power-play goal and the 4-3 advantage. A couple of minutes later Jake Peterson gave the Shield a 5-3 lead before Novikov added one more for good measure to close out the game 6-3 in the home team’s favour.
The Shield’s next game will also be at home, Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. versus the Bradford Rattlers.