Wild break out of skid with boss behind the bench
By Bill Rea

Brandon Beadow was on the fly for the Wild in the first period of last Saturday's match in King City against Richmond Hill.

King Wild President Naz Marchese was pressed into service Saturday night to coach his men against the Douro Dukes.

The result was a 7-5 victory for the local heroes, and Marchese declaring that he knows to quit while he's ahead, vowing that's the last junior A game he'll ever coach. "I'm one and O!" he boasted.

Marchese was obliged to fill in due to a shortage of behind-the-bench strength. Head Coach Paul Hampton has been suspended for the rest of the season after a Nov. 27 incident involving an official in a game in Richmond Hill. Assistant Coach Sheldon Friske, who has been filling in for him, had previous plans that kept him out of town for Saturday's match in Douro.

John Adams led the attack for his mates with three goals, while singles were contributed by Tom Coukos, Matt Marchese, Chris Martella and Brandon Beadow.

The coach said the side is still running into trouble by taking too many penalties. He pointed out all five of the Dukes' goals were power-play efforts.

That victory came on the heels of two losses the previous week.

They fell 8-3 last Friday to the Espanola Kings. Daniel Douglas provided two of the goals to his mates' cause, while Matthew Salituro notched the other marker.

The Wild probably deserved a much better fate in that outing, as they out shot their hosts 49-33.

They hosted the Richmond Hill Rams the following night and watched their guests build up and maintain a three-goal lead for much of the evening. King came to life late in the contest and mounted a comeback, but it wasn't enough as the Rams prevailed 8-7

Anthony Simone led his side with a pair of goals and a similar number of assists. Single goals were contributed by Luke Fortin (the first goal of his junior career), Adams, Coukos, Derek Long and Marchese. David Manning contributed two assists, while singles were earned by Adams, Keylan Marchant, Beadow, Douglas and Marc Fortin.

"That's the best third period I've seen them play all year," Friske remarked after the match. "I think that's a good starting point for us in the second half of the season."

Hampton was still fuming about his suspension, commenting there was no hearing or any attempt to get his side of the issue (efforts to contact league officials for their comments were unsuccessful). He had said the incident arose when the referee calling the Nov. 27 contest in Richmond Hill failed to call a player for slugging Marc Fortin. He said he grabbed the referee by the sleave to protest, and wound up getting tossed.

He added he felt bad for his players because he can't be behind the bench for them. Hampton has to take out his own insurance to go on the ice with them for practice, because the league no longer covers him.

Friske said he's in charge on game days, but "I still look up to (Hampton)."

The Wild will be back on the road to Douro Saturday night for a 7:30 match with the Dukes.

Their next home game will be Dec. 22, when they are scheduled to entertain the Bradford Rattlers, starting at 8:30 p.m.