Mounties stampede Merchants in season opener
George Le Gresley
Sports Columnist
Opening night last Saturday had a different look - and a winning feel - as the Paris Mounties opened their season with a convincing 5-1 stampede over the Norwich Merchants.
There was another noticeable difference from the previous two seasons. The Mounties logo at centre ice, reflected on the players’ uniforms, was jazzed up with three gold stars on the shoulders and gold highlights through the logo’s stripes.
Perhaps the new look, along with the dominant start signals the beginning of a golden era of Mounties hockey.
The home opener ceremony kicked off with player and coach introductions, the national anthem, and the ceremonial puck drop with former Mounties players and coaches Phil Dalpe and Tyler Brown.
The first five minutes of the first period was even, with the Norwich side holding a slight edge until six minutes in, when Mounties Austin Christian took a minor penalty. Last season, Paris’ penalty kill was disorganized and gave up a lot of goals; Saturday night, they looked organized and were effective on this penalty and subsequent penalty kills.
At 10:37 of the first period, Griffin Mordue, opened Paris’ scoring on assists by Lincoln Swerdfeger and Jay Metler for a 1-0 Mounties lead. At 5:39, the Mounties had their first power play of the season. Last year’s team was at a disadvantage on the man advantage, having allowed numerous short-handed goals and scoring chances to the opposition. In this game, it looked organized and effective, so much so that Colton Main scored with assists being credited to Mettler and Logan Pipe. The period ended with the home side having a 2-0 lead over the Merchants.
Four and a half minutes into the second period, the Kersey brothers made the scoresheet, with Cole getting the goal and an assist being credited to brother Jack Kersey and Mettler. Nine minutes later, the Merchants scored, and the period ended with the Mounties leading the Merchants 3-1. There was one little tussle between a Merchant, who was the size of a football offensive lineman, and the Mounties’ Swerdfeger, who could only throw uppercuts, as his dance partner was that much taller!
The third period was dominated by the Mounties, with Captain Ryan O’Keefe-Gardner potting a goal early in the third period, assisted by Ethan Markle. The Merchants pulled their goaltender for a man advantage in the final four minutes of the period, allowing Aiden Switzer popped in an empty-net goal to make it 5-1 in favor of the Mounties.
If there were three stars awarded, the first star would go to rookie goalie Owen Closs, who, as a 17-year-old, showed a lot of poise in his first PJHL start. Owen put aside 26 shots and gave a lot of credit to his teammates for being in position to mitigate many of the opposition's scoring chances.
Second star goes to the coaching staff, led by head coach Zac Rinaldi, who, this early in the season, has the team playing better hockey.
Third star goes to the team for putting on a good show and having a successful season in the Doherty division.
On Sunday afternoon, the Mounties travelled to Dorchester to face the Dolphins and lost a close one, 7-6.
The Mounties return home this coming Saturday, September 26, at the Brant Sports Complex, with a 7:30 puck drop.
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