New Lakers Era Begins With 7-3 Loss To Kings

The new Wallaceburg Lakers coaching staff were very pleased with the effort put forth by the Lakers, despite a 7-3 loss to Dresden on Wednesday night | Photo by Jocelyn McLaughlin / Jem’s Snapshots

Derek Ellis and Ryan Paxton made their debuts as head coach and assistant coach behind the Wallaceburg Lakers bench in a 7-3 loss to Dresden on Wednesday night.

The final score may not be indicative of the coaching staff’s expectations, but Ellis says he is more than pleased and proud of his players.

“They never gave up,” Ellis said. “Take the score away and I’m 100% ecstatic about how the boys played. They battled, and they never quit. We HAVE to be the hardest working team on the ice every night. I think there’s much more of this to come.”

Dresden jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one period with an opening goal from Kings captain Derrick VanEvery and a penalty shot goal from John Montgomery.

Six goals were exchanged in the second period; Dayne Davis, VanEvery’s second and Phillip Clarke tallying for Dresden while Kadin Ritchie, Alex Ritchie and Justin Melo fought back for Wallaceburg. The Lakers appeared to be inspired by some fisticuffs from teammate Cory Lucier in a tilt with the Kings’ Kevin Ritzer, an indicator to the Lakers staff and fans, that this team had in fact, not given up on one another.

Dresden put the game on ice in the third with a power play goal from Alex Hall and an unassisted back-breaker from John Montgomery, his second goal of the evening.

Wallaceburg has now dropped 16 straight and fall to 3-28 on the season. The win moves Dresden ahead of Wheatley for sole possession of sixth place in the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League.