CJHL Hockey
Grads lose both ends of home-and-home series with Lumber Kings
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Michael Borkowski wrestles for position in front of the Pembroke Lumber Kings net against a member of the visiting team. Fred Sherwin/Photo

The Cumberland Grads are hoping they have seen the last of the Pembroke Lumber Kings after failing to pick up a point against the first place team in a home and home series that began with a 3-0 loss in Pembroke on Sunday and ended with a 4-3 loss at the Navan Arena on Tuesday.

The Grads actually gave the high-flying Lumber Kings all the could handle in the first period and might have been able to at least force the game into overtime if not for an opportune goal by Tyler Tosunian that gave the Lumber Kings their first lead of the game with 20 seconds left to go in the second period.

The Grads had a glorious opportunity to take a 1-0 lead early in the first when Matt Miller was sprung on a breakaway only to have Lumber Kings' netminder Scott Zacharias stone him with the right pad.

Miller would get another chance to put his team on the board at the 10:40 mark of the first period when he won the draw to the left of the Pembroke net, controlled the puck, and then jammed it between Zacharias' left pad and the post.

The Lumber Kings tied the game on a power play marker by Tyler Tousunian with 4:09 left in the opening period, only to have the Grads regain the lead a lttle over two minutes later when Greg Sartoretto tipped a Kevin Lough point shot past Zacharias.

The Lumber Kings evened things up again midway through the second period on goal by Damian Cross who was set up on the play by Tosunian.

Cross would return the favour with time winding down in the second on a nifty behind the back pass which Tosunian picked up in the neutral zone and then raced in on the Grads' net. The diminutive forward went forehand, backhand and then back to his forehand before poking it past Grads goalie Adam Mohr.

Pembroke would add an insurance marker at the 6:19 mark of the third when Cross beat Mohr for his second goal of the game.The goal would come in handy as the Grads drew to within one on Sartoretto's second power play marker of the game.with a little over four minutes left in the third.

That would be as close as they would get, however, as the the Lumber Kings were able to hang on for the win.

The loss leaves the Grads still trailing the sixth place Ottawa Jr. Senators by two points with a little over two weeks left in the season. They have seven games left, including three home games, to try and get past the Jr. Sens and avoid a frst round match-up against either Brockville or Pembroke.

Cumberland's next home game is on Sunday against the Cornwall Colts. The opening faceoff is at 3 p.m.

(Posted 9:30 p.m., Feb. 9)

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