Wild frustrated in close game by Innisfil
By Bill Rea

The King Wild only had one game last week, and it ended in a frustrating loss to the Innisfil Lakers at home Saturday night.

As a result, the Lakers leapfrogged over the Wild into sixth place in the Greater Metro Junior A standings with 12 points. The local guys have dropped back into seventh with 11.

The Wild dominated the opening period, outshooting the Lakers 13-5, but they were only able to notch one goal for their pains, off the stick of Chris Martella, helped out by Marc Fortin and John Adams.

The second period was a bit closer, as penalties got the better of the Wild. Brandon Ellis scored late in the frame while the Lakers were enjoying a two-man advantage, with assists going to Anthony Gambacorta and Anton Holm. The Wild had chances in the third, but Patrick Corrado notched another power-play goal for the Innisfil crew midway through the period, with Gambacorta helping out on that play too. Jonathan Dew put the icing on the cake for the Lakers with a goal into the empty King net with just a couple of seconds remaining on the clock.

"I thought we played well enough to win in the first period," commented Head Coach Paul Hampton after the game, adding a few more breaks would have made a big difference.

Hampton also singled out the defensive play of Keylan Marchant. "I think he's a real talent back there," he remarked.

This will be another relatively quiet week for the Wild. They have only one game, but it promises to be a tough assignment. They will be hosting the first-place Temiscaming Royals Saturday night, starting at 8:30 p.m.