Kemptville sends Stallions to 28th defeat as Kanata's season of discontent worsens
Posted Nov 27, 2009 By Jeff Maguire
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Tweet ThisEMC Sports - It's going to be a "grit your teeth and bear it" season for Kanata Stallions' management and fans.
The club's campaign of discontent got even worse last week when, after snapping their league record 26-game losing streak the previous Friday (Nov. 13) in Gloucester, it was a return to form for the struggling hockey club against Brockville Braves and Kemptville 73's.
Last Tuesday Stallions fell 5-1 at home to Brockville and on Friday they were defeated 4-1 by visiting Kemptville.
The 73's are one of the hottest in the league at present. Playing the young Kanata side has proven to be a tonic for Kemptville who suffered through two difficult seasons after first entering the Central Junior Hockey League (CJHL) in 2007. In fact 73's won just 15 games in each of its first two campaigns. In total that is 30 wins in 120 Junior A contests.
This season they are 11-16-0-1 and look well on their way to improving on their less than stellar totals of the previous two campaigns. Coupled with Saturday night's 5-3 triumph over the Junior Senators in Ottawa, 73's are currently on a four game winning streak. They have won six of their past seven CJHL games and eight of their last dozen contests, beginning with a 6-2 triumph over Stallions back on Oct. 27, also at Kanata Recreation Complex (KRC). Kemptville is a perfect 3-0 against Stallions this season.
It's obviously a very different story for the struggling Kanata team. Besides being the club's 28th defeat in 30 games, Friday's defeat also left Stallions winless on home ice. In 16 games at KRC they are an embarrassing 0-15-1-0. Their only home ice point came in an overtime loss at the hands of Gloucester Rangers way back on Sept. 22.
Worse yet Kanata was never in the game against Kemptville who out shot them by a wide 43-24 margin. The visitors were up 1-0 after 20 minutes and they led 4-0 before veteran forward Brandon Timm connected for his 11th of the season with just 3:22 remaining in the second period.
Centre Michael Moreau, who shares top spot on 73's scoring list with winger Michael Rowbotham (each has 26 points), led the way with a goal and one assist. Rowbotham, who hails from Stittsville, fired his team leading 12th goal in the second period. Nick Duhn and Zach Wilson, with a powerplay tally in the middle stanza, were the other Kemptville goal scorers. Brett Varrin and Ryan Delorme had two assists apiece for the winners.
Travis Wilkins started in goal for Kanata but was relieved by Sebastien Parker after giving up the third goal of the game at 9:28 of the second. Between them they kicked out 39 shots although Parker yielded just one goal in 30 minutes 32 seconds of work.
Ben Curley stopped 23 of 24 shots to back stop the win for Kemptville.
Referee Todd Ogilby whistled 11 penalties, six of which went to the home team. Kanata rookie winger Ryan Donnelly had a double minor for high sticking while the rest of the penalties were all of the two-minute variety.
There was a higher than usual 255 fans in the seats Friday but 73's are bring quite a few with them these days. Not surprisingly Kanata continues to have the lowest attendance in the 12-team league.
EASY WIN
Last Tuesday's (Nov. 17) final was 5-1 for the high flying Brockville team who are among the CJHL's elite teams with 21 victories in their first 27 games this season. The win in Kanata gave them sole possession of third place in the overall standings. They, along with Cornwall Colts, are in their own division atop the Robinson standings. Defending champion Pembroke leads the league (they top the Yzerman Division) and Cornwall is second. Braves are a close second in the Robinson and third in the league.
After ringing up a season high seven goals in Orleans five nights earlier it appears the Kanata offence took the night off against Brockville. If it is accurate the score sheet shows Stallions were out shot 27-10 on the night. It shows '0' shots on Braves' goal in the third. Ouch!
Brockville, with head coach Todd Gill (the former NHLer) back behind the bench, basically put it away with three first period goals, leading 3-1 after 20 minutes. They added single goals in each of the second and third periods to wrap things up.
Gill coached Team Canada East in the fourth annual World Junior A Challenge tournament in Summerside, Prince Edward Island recently. Russia defeated his squad 6-2 in the bronze medal game. Half a dozen CJHL players were on the Team Canada East roster.
In the gold medal game the United States won for the second straight year, edging Team Canada West 2-1 on Sunday, Nov. 8. Canada West won the first two events in 2006 and 2007.
Gill's Canada East team won both their preliminary round games but dropped both playoff encounters in the five-team event which also included teams from Sweden and Belarus.
Since his return from PEI Gill's Braves (he is also GM and team owner) are 4-0. Last Tuesday's win in Kanata was the ninth consecutive for the league's hottest team.
Left winger James Keane led the winners with a pair of goals, one on a third period powerplay, with Mark Williamson collecting another powerplay marker in the first period. The other Brockville goals came off the sticks of Sebastien Gingras and affiliated player Tanner Benton. Former Stallion Shayne Thompson, a Stittsville native, had a pair of assists as did line mate Shayne Stockton. The pair is 1-2 in team scoring with Stockton leading with 46 including a team leading 19 goals, while Thompson has 41 points including 16 goals. The pair was third and seventh respectively in league scoring following the game at KRC.
Stallions' only goal of the night was scored by left winger Kyle Rankin in the first period. Rankin took his season totals to 10 goals and 12 assists. The rookie is second in team scoring behind Allan McPherson who earned an assist on his tally. McPherson now has 39 points and he stood ninth in the CJHL derby following the contest.
Matt Jenkins barely broke a sweat in the Brockville goal, turning aside nine shots all night. Sebastien Parker was the losing net minder, kicking out 22.
Referee Adam Brown called 10 penalties, six of those going to Braves. The only major was a checking from behind penalty and the accompanying game misconduct handed to Benton right at the final whistle.
Tuesday Kanata hosted expansion Carleton Place Canadians and tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) they have a date with the league-leading Colts in Cornwall. Face-off at Ed Lumley Arena in the Cornwall Civic Complex is 2:30. Stallions open the month of December with a home game against Gloucester, Tuesday Dec. 1. The puck drop at KRC is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
