Wild in third place after a split week
By Bill Rea

The Wild were relentless Sunday as they pressed the attack on the Deseronto Thunder.

The King Wild received a frustrating Halloween trick last Tuesday night, as they lost their match against the Richmond Hill Rams 8-7 after a shootout.

But they made up for it Sunday when they blanked the Deseronto Thunder 4-0. Massimo Camin gets the credit for posting the first shutout in Wild history.

He was a pretty happy young man after the match, admitting it was nice to get the win, considering he didn't think he had been at his best in his previous outing.

"My team was really good tonight," remarked the 18-year-old Barrie resident. "My defence was great."

"He did what a goalie's supposed to do," commented Head Coach Paul Hampton. "He came up big when we needed him and it paid off."

Hampton said last Tuesday's outing was a penalty-filled affair, and that hindered his men to some extent. "Our team's a good team when they can roll with four lines," he remarked.

He also said the team was flat in the first period, spotting the Rams a 3-0 lead before getting down to business. They spent much of the rest of regulation time swapping the lead back and forth.

Massimo Camin held firm Sunday to notch the first regular-season shutout in King Wild history.

Sunday's outing was a lot more decisive, with the Wild outshooting the Thunder 41- 31.

Kurt Zdrillich opened the scoring in the first period, with some help from Daniel Douglas.

The second period was scoreless, but Jordan Gidaro made the most of two-man advantage early in the third to increase the lead. Ryan Aikins and Mark Fortin drew assists on the play. Kyle Baulin got a powerplay goal of his own later in the frame, with assist going to Piero Petti and Matt Marchese.

The Thunder were pressing to get on the scoreboard late in the contest, helped by a couple of Wild penalties that gave them a two-man advantage. But Aikins proved himself up to the challenge, and broke away for an unassisted short-handed marker with 1.8 seconds left on the clock.

Despite the win, Hampton said there is still some work that needs to be done.

"I feel that we haven't improved as much as i'd like to see us improve," he commented.

The Wild have 21 points after 14 games, which is good for third place in the Greater Metro Junior A standings. Richmond Hill is in second place with 23, but they have taken 16 games to get there. The Bradford Rattlers continue to lead with 28 points after 15 matches.

The Wild will be doing some travelling this week.

Friday will see them heading north to Gravenhurst for a match with the South Muskoka Shield, who are currently last in the standings with five points. That game will start at 8 p.m.

The following night, the local side will be on the road to Deseronto for another game with the Thunder. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday night will offer the team a chance to gain some ground in the standings as they head for Bradford to face the Rattlers. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m.