CORNER BROOK Union Street Silver Bullets goalie Dave King has a couple of issues with how certain segments of the past two Corner Brook Molson Ball Hockey League seasons went.
The team has been to the championship series the past two years, losing both times to Whelan’s Gate. Slightly less significant, they’ve lost their season openers the past two years too.
Well, King and company rid themselves of one of those blemishes during the first action of the new season at the Pepsi Centre on Tuesday night, as they won their opening contest 3-1 over Oceanex.
“It’s good to start the year with a win for once,” King said. “And we’ve got a lot of experience getting to the finals the last two years, so we know what it takes to get there. We’ve shown we can hang in there and compete with the best.”
It was a close game against the ocean crew to start the year, something King expects will continue throughout the season.
“They’re scary and they’re getting better and better every year,” he said. “They were less than two minutes away from ending our season last year, so if they’re getting better, it’s a scary thought. Hopefully we’re getting a little better too.”
Oceanex’s Jamie Brake thinks so, although he also believes every team in the league is better this year.
“It was cut down to six teams, so I think there will be more parity than ever,” he said. “It should make for a good season and a lot of good games.”
The battle with the Bullets didn’t bring anything Brake didn’t already expect.
“We knew going in they have a good team and they always give you a good game, especially with Dave in net,” he said. “We’ve got a few new bodies in the lineup and there was a bit of rust there, but it won’t take long to get used to it all again.”
The following are summaries of the other league games on Tuesday night:
Gate 8, Starling’s 1
Glenn Staples had four goals, while Jeremy Bishop (2), Mark Gillis, Joey Bennett and Brian Ford notched the other markers as the defending champs demolished Starling’s.
Blair Billard supplied the offence for the losing side.
Deer Lake Langer’s 6,
South Shore Riverdogs 2
Mark Seaward (2), Steve Simms (2), Jake Easton and Brandon Hynes scored for Deer Lake.
Jeff Cammie and Robbie Greene did the damage for the Riverdogs.
