Oct 28, 2023 | Mackenzie | 977 views
Applekings win 5-2 over Thundercats for 1st Franchise Win
Applekings played a strong team game that led to their first win of the season and first in franchise history!
The Applekings had a strong effort in Durham last night, coming out with a 5-2 victory.
The first period, the Applekings came out a little flat and Durham took advantage of that midway through with a goal from Quinten Bruce. The Applekings seemed to bounce back after that goal, off of a nice forecheck, #11 Brady Stewart was able to find #8 Neal Ross wide open out front and he made a nice move to tie the game 1-1. That was Ross' first senior hockey goal! Durham took back the lead on the power play with 2:50 left in the 1st period on a goal from Kyler Nixon. At the end of the period, a 5 minutes boarding penalty was called on Tristen Park, meaning the Applekings would start the 2nd period down a man for 5 minutes. Shots this period were 17-10 for Durham.
The second period started with the Applekings shorthanded for 5 minutes. They did a great job killing the penalty and not giving up a lot of chances. In fact, #17 Mitchell Good poked away the puck at the blue line and went in to score a shorthanded goal to tie the game at 2-2. The rest of the period was all Applekings. The forecheck was spectacular, they were generating a lot of good chances and were playing simple hockey in their own end. Durham took a penalty with 4 minutes to go on a headcheck. One minute into the power play, #24 Jamie Wise scored his first goal in an Applekings uniform, assisted by #17 Mitch Good and #19 Mack Fleming to give the Applekings their first lead of the season. The announcer in the arena said the shots were 22-7 for the Kings this period, however it says online the shots were just 15-10, take that how you will.
The third period was ALL Applekings! By this time, they had worn down the Thundercats defence with a relentless forecheck in the offensive zone and neutral zone. Four minutes into the 3rd, Good scored his second of the game (3rd of the season) on a nice passing play assisted by Fleming. Two minutes later, #97 Brody Cadeau got on the board with his first senior goal, assisted on a nice pass by #6 Noah Calvert-Goetz. The Applekings kept the play simple from then onwards and worked it down low in the offensive zone. They kept the Thundercats out of their end and #33 Allan Menary kept things sound in net when things did breakdown. Shots were not announced in house, but online it says 14-13 Durham, which is also tough to comprehend with how much the Applekings controlled the play throughout the period. Game Total online: Shots were 41-38 Durham.
Menary played strong between the pipes, stopping 39 shots his way!
The Cathi Parrish - Locations North 3 Stars of the Game in the Applekings Win:
3rd Star: #24 Jamie Wise, 1 Game Winning Goal
2nd Star: #33 Allan Menary, Win, 39 Saves, 2 GA, .951SV%
1st Star: #17 Mitchell Good, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Broken Sticks during Scoring Chances.
Next Game: Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 5:30 PM vs Milverton 4 Wheel Drives at the Beaver Valley Community Centre.