Wild salvage a point out of gruelling weekend, after winning first three games
By Bill Rea

Mayor Margaret Black was accompanied by King Wild Head Coach Paul Hampton as she performed the ceremonial face off for the team's home opener last Thursday. Anthony Simone took the draw for the Wild, and John Marco handled things for the Toronto Canada Moose.

A six-hour bus ride north, followed by a major hockey game, followed by a sixhour bus ride home, ending at about 4 a.m., is going to be a strain on the fittest group of young men.

That was the lot of the King Wild Friday night, and that was topped by another match Saturday night at home.

They travelled north to Elliot Lake Friday for their first meeting ever with the Bobcats, and the hosts edged them 3-2.

Club President Naz Marchese said they had very little time to unwind after getting off the bus. "We didn't get our legs until the third period," he observed.

Then they had to follow that with a Saturday night contest against the Bradford Rattlers. Bradford needed a shoot-out to secure the 3-2 win.

Head Coach Paul Hampton was philosophical after the weekend, realizing his men were put to a lot of strain.

"I was tired and I wasn't playing," he remarked.

"Losing in a shoot-out is not the worst thing that can happen," he observed.

Earlier in the week, the Wild posted their third win of the young campaign; a 6- 3 verdict at the expense of the Richmond Hill Rams.

The first week of action saw the team win two contests, both against the Toronto Canada Moose.

The Wild opened their season last Thursday evening at home, and they marked the occasion with an 8-5 victory over the Moose. They returned the visit two nights later, and spent the evening dominating their hosts. The final score was 8- 0.

Hampton wasn't entirely pleased with his men's performance in the first game, pointing out they had a huge lead on the Moose, but let their foes catch up.

On the other hand, he pointed out it's still early and all the ends have not yet been drawn together.

"I don't think we're in the greatest shape," he commented the following morning, adding he was only able to ice three lines.

The Wild finished last season in second place in last year's action, well back of the loop-leading Bradford Rattlers, who they ended up facing in the finals. Wild dropped the best-of-seven series in five games.

Hampton figures things are going to be a little different this year. "I don't think we're going to have the same scoring punch that we had," he remarked, although he added that's not necessarily a bad thing. He's hoping to have four solid lines when everything is settled, so the lack of any real scoring leaders should make re-arrangements easier, if necessary.

The second outing was a much more decisive story, as the Wild were seldom threatened on the way to their 8-0 shutout. They even survived more than four minutes (spread throughout the game) of playing two men short.

Brandon Brown earned the ace in his goal-tending stats.

"It was definitely pleasing," he remarked after the game, adding he received lots of help from the defence. The 17-year-old Markham resident called it a "very good team effort."

"I don't think we played any different than we played Thursday night," Hampton commented.

He said the Moose were all over his men in the King end for the first 10 minutes, seemingly throwing everything to one side of the rink. He called a time-out, and got the team to work on getting the puck over to the other side and out.

"In the second period, the wheels came off their cart," he said.

The Wild have ended the week in a tie for third place in the Greater Metro Junior A standings with Elliot Lake, both with seven points. the Deseronto Storm and Temiscaming Royals have each won all four of their matches, so they share the lead with eight.

The team just has one game this week, but it will involve some travel. They will be heading for the Napanee area Saturday night for an encounter with the Tamworth Cyclones. It will start at 8:30 p.m.