The Listowel Cyclones were in the wrong place at the wrong time on Sunday night. One night after suffering a disappointing loss to the Brantford Golden Eagles, the Sugar Kings dispatched their visitors in inhospitable fashion. The end result was a 6-3 victory that allowed Elmira to close the weekend on a high note.
Elmira poured 56 shots on net — more than double Listowel’s total — and had their special teams clicking, scoring five power play goals in 10 opportunities.
Listowel pulled the score within 3-2 in the second period, but that was as close as they’d come in a game that really wasn’t that close at all. The Cyclones took advantage of a few good opportunities and Elmira penalties for two power play goals of their own, but they looked overmatched from the start. Riley Sonnenburg and Michael Hasson each netted their second goal of the game in the third period, to put things out of reach.
The home team jumped out to an early lead on power play goals by Hasson and Riley in the game’s first seven minutes of the game. Andrew Smith added another goal later in the period as the Sugar Kings took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Coach Dean DeSilva said a quick start was important after a poorly played game against Brantford.
“We did not play well at all last night,” he said, referring to Saturday night’s loss. “We had a long meeting before the game (tonight), and the key was to get off to a good start; to use our depth, and try to wear the other team down. The longer the game goes, we can take advantage of it. I was very pleased with how all 20 guys played tonight.”
DeSilva said he is proud of his team’s work ethic and that consistency will be the main focus heading into the season’s final months.
“We’ve got to be prepared to bring the work boots and keep the gas pedal down every game and every practice, and it’s that consistency piece we’re looking for,” he said. “We want to gain that identity going into the playoffs. We don’t want to be fancy team; we want to use our depth to our advantage. I’m happy with our conditioning and think we wear teams down with that.”
Hasson added three assists in the game to finish with 5 points, and teammate Scott Nagy had a goal and three assists.
Next up for the Sugar Kings is a Saturday night trip to Guelph to take on the Hurricanes. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
On Sunday, the Kings will be hosting their annual Support our Troops event, playing against the Cambridge Winter Hawks. The Kings will be wearing camouflage uniforms, which will be auctioned off at the end of the game, and all proceeds will support the London Military Family Resource Centre.
The game will start at 2 p.m.