GRAVENHURST - On the heels of their first loss on home ice in more than a year, the South Muskoka Shield rebounded with a solid effort Friday night to record a 14-3 win over the Shelburne Red Wings.
“From start to finish, we dominated the play and I thought we were much more energized than the week before,” said head coach Dallyn Telford. “It was nice to see some spread-out scoring as three different lines contributed offensively.”
In Friday’s game at Gravenhurst Centennial Centre, the Red Wings were sent to the penalty box early, allowing the Shield to capitalize with power-play goals.
Shield forwards Erik MacPherson, Donny Danroth, Dylan Sontag and Travis White launched the team to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first frame. Meanwhile, the Shield defence was steadfast in killing off four consecutive penalties, including a 5-on-3 situation.
By the end of the second period, South Muskoka had jumped ahead 7-1 with its first even strength marker and two more with the man advantage, achieving perfection on the power play going six-for-six.
Near the halfway point of the period, Shelburne finally managed to solve the Shield defence and goalie Tanner Swift to record their first goal of the game.
The Shield played a solid third period this week, notching seven more goals in the frame. Scorers included Jericho Buwalda, Brodie McDonald, MacPherson, White (2) and Sontag (2).
The trio of White, Danroth and Sontag now hold the top three spots in league scoring, with 11, 10 and nine points, respectively.
A couple of minor defensive breakdowns by South Muskoka in the final frame led to Shelburne’s Nikita Samolyov notching two goals on Swift.
However, Swift handily earned the win in net and has yet to lose a Greater Metro Hockey League game with a perfect 10-0 record dating back to last season.
Swift faced only 25 shots on net, while South Muskoka put 61 shots on Red Wings netminders Vladimir Kadykov and Nikita Rodkin.
“Overall I thought we controlled our end of the ice and were fairly solid in our defensive positioning,” Telford said. “So far, the guys are learning and buying into our systems. If we continue to progress and focus on doing the little things right, we will have success.”
The Shield is set for a three-game weekend, travelling for the first time this season. Friday night the team faces the Lefroy Wave at Gravenhurst Centennial Centre at 8 p.m., followed by two away games — Saturday in Vaughan against the Stars, and Sunday in Bradford against the Rattlers.