(Photo: Lopez on right) — For the second time in as many games, a slow start has cost the Lockport Regals as they fall to the Thorold Blackhawks 4-2 Thursday night in Thorold, Ontario.
Thorold stormed quickly out of the gate scoring twice in the first 6 minutes of play. A goal late in the period put the Blackhawks up by 3. The Regals were outshot 12-5 in the opening period. The Regals made a contest of it in the second with back and forth play. The only goal of the period came off the stick of Lockport forward Tim Lopez on a Penalty Shot. In the third, Thorold struck first at 8:08 to go up by 3 but Tim Lopez found the back of the net 5 minutes later with his second tally of the night. The game was even the rest of the way as Thorold skated off with a 4-2 win.
“We had a bit of a slow start, but weathered the storm in the second. All in all, a pretty good effort, but the push back was a little too late” stated Assistant Coach Geoff Peters. Head Coach Jamie Bird added “there were a lot of positives to build off; the team is going in the right direction it is just going to take a little time”.
Next up are the Pelham Panthers this Sunday in Pelham, Ontario. The Panthers come into the game having won their season opener against Hamilton 2-0. In the pre-season, the Panthers led the league with a 7-1 record, having outscored their opponents 22-9. Leading the way for Pelham were Noah Caperchione, Zach Thompson and Matt Ruigrok with 7 points each. Pelham will be hosting their inaugural game in their brand new arena. Puck drops at 2:30pm.
Following this game, both teams will meet again Wednesday, September 19 at the Cornerstone Arena in Lockport. Warm up is at 6:30 and the puck drops at 7pm.
