Flyers shine in showcase; edge Chatham in shootout

by C. Scott Holland

Playing three games in four nights is tough on most teams, but the Leamington Flyers handled their three game stint nicely as they collected points in all three. They won two of the three after dropping a tough overtime decision to London last Thursday.

On Saturday they journeyed to St. Catharines to play in the Showcase Weekend against the Fort Erie Meteors.

The Flyers won the contest 7-3. On Sunday they played in Chatham and beat the last-place Maroons 4-3 in a shootout.

The four point weekend moved them into a third-place tie. Saturday's game did not start the right way for Leamington, but after getting behind 2-0 in the first, the Flyers eventually exploded for seven unanswered goals.

First-period checking-from-behind penalties assessed to Flyers Kyle Bowman and Ron Soucie certainly affected the team. But after head coach Tony Piroski took a delay of game prior to the start of the second frame and the Meteors tabbed a third goal, the Flyers' Alex Seguin opened the flood gates with the first of his three tallies.

Seguin initiated the offense at 11:18 and 90 seconds afterward, Brett Babkirk and Mitchell Amante combined with Cheyne Matheson who drilled a powerplay marker. Seguin continued his prolific game when he slotted the handiwork of Chris Scott Jarred Dennis at 14;35 and then took a Brett Langlois feed to deftly pot a shorthanded goal at 16:53. Up 4-3 in the third, the Flyers received goals from Jarred Dennis, Matt Ogden and Jakob Henrikson Leamington outshot the Meteors 41-19 and starter Colin Greeley picked up the win.

An early Flyers lead evaporated in Sunday's game at Chatham, but the Flyers salvaged it in a shootout as they nipped the Maroons 4-3.

Alex Seguin and Tyler Quigley assisted on Tony Spidalieri's powerplay goal at 3:26. The Maroons tied the contest by the 14 minute mark of the first and the Flyers offense went to work to forge a 3-1 lead. Brett Babkirk sent a pass to Chris Scott who slotted the second Flyers' tally at 14;04 then Matt Ogden and Brett Langlois got the puck to Cheyne Matheson in the frame's dying seconds and Matheson beat Chatham starter Conner MacKinnon.  To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.