November 5th, 2013 PIRATES CONTINUE TO ROLL Ryan Sizer Scores his 100th Career Regular Season Goal PICTON, Ontario – The patch eyes continue to surge along in the Empire. The first place Pirates (13-1-0) took care of business this week with an impressive 7-3 win over the second place Amherstview Jets (9-5-0-1) and a 4-1 win over the last place Deseronto Storm. On Thursday, the Jets and Pirates battled for the second time in five days. The Jets opened the scoring at 4:15 of the first period on a goal by Cassidy Bruni. The Pirates finally capitalized on their chances and evened the score mid-way through the period when Ryan Sizer deposited a Brandon Peever rebound. In the second period, the veteran sniper exploded offensively; Sizer scored a short-handed goal at 7:51, a power-play goal at 8:26 and rifled home his fourth goal of the game at even strength at 14:17 of the middle frame after line mate Jack Davison lit the lamp at 11:15. Sizer’s fourth goal of the game was his 100th career regular season goal in a Pirates uniform; a benchmark GM/Head Coach Ryan Woodward said is an impressive accomplishment, “Ryan is a threat to score every time he touches the ice. He is very skilled and he put on an offensive clinic tonight. I am very proud of him, he’s always been a natural goal scorer but he’s worked very hard to become a complete player and one of the most dangerous players in the Province.” In the third period, the Jets made things interesting with two goals from Dustin Kennedy and Matt Horton to cut the Pirates lead to two. The patch eyes would put a stop to the Jet’s momentum when Brian Bunnett and veteran Chris Jones scored in final minutes of the period to seal the 7-3 win. Woodward said, “Bunnett had a big game (4 points), he’s been setting the tone with his play at both ends of the ice. This was an important win at home and our veterans had some big time performances tonight.” On Friday in Deseronto, the Storm came out flying after picking up their first win of the season in Port Hope a few days earlier. Veteran forward Mitch Burkitt gave the Storm the start they were looking for when he opened the scoring at 6:12 of the period. The Pirates peppered 31 shots at Matt Loveys in the first period and it wasn’t until 17:36 of the period when Brian Bunnett finally beat Loveys with a shot under the bar to tie the score. In the second, Chris Jones found the back of the net at 6:25 of the period when line mate Taylor Brown found him all alone in the slot. Woodward credited Jones and Brown for sparking the group with their hard work on a nightly basis during the team’s early season success, “Jonesy has elevated his play and making a big contribution at both ends of ice. He’s a hard-nosed, gritty player and he has the ability to finish around the net. He and Brownie are veterans with a lot of experience. They are hard to play against; they don’t take any shifts off. That’s what makes them successful and important players to our team.” The Pirates continued to fire lots of rubber at the Storm goaltender the rest of the way. Brian Bunnett added his second of the game and Devin McCann finished the scoring for the Pirates on their way to a 4-1 win on the road. Bunnett has been on a torrid streak recently, his three goals and four assists this weekend has moved him into first place in the Empire in league scoring (32 pts), followed by team mates Ryan Sizer (30pts), Evan Greer (27pts) and Jack Davison (24pts). The Pirates are back in action Tuesday, November 5th when they travel to Napanee to face the Raiders in the first of back to back games this week. The Raiders will visit Prince Edward Community Centre on Thursday, November 7th at 7:30pm.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 07:37:40 +0000