Knights Selects and Elites Sweep Eagles

The Knights continued their longest stretch of road games, as they pulled into Raleight to play the suddenly resurgent East Coast Eagles.  For the third consecutive week, the Knights were guests of a SEJHL and MJHL opponent on the same weekend.   Both Knights teams met the challenge the prior weekend in Palm Beach, knocking off the Palm Beach Hawks who at the time were tied with the Knights for league supremacy in the SEJHL and MJHL.   The Knights met the challenge by sweeping all four games between the clubs.

Fighting injuries and road weariness, both Knights teams limped into action against the Eagles.  Four Junior Select players did not make the trip, including starting defenseman Matt Deluca and first line center Colin Brannigan.  The much deeper Knights responded with convincing 10-1 and 14-0 victories over the very young East Coast Eagles SEJHL team.  With the two wins, coupled with last weekends sweep of Palm Beach, the young Knights moved again even closer to clinching their third consecutive SEJHL Championship and another bid to the USAH Junior National Championships.

On the senior circuit, the East Coast Eagles who struggled for much of the first half of the season, have suddenly found their way under the guidance of Head Coach Mike O’Leary.  The Knights made the trip without 5 starters, who are nursing a variety of injuries.  The last time the two teams met, the Knights had to overcome a 3-0 deficeit and rallied with 5 unanswered goals to win 5-3.  This time, the Knights would level no doubt.  In game one, the Knights took and early lead after the first period with a pair of goal by Brendan Boyd (Cope) and then rained pucks on the East Coast Goaltender with four goals in the period, including a pair from Trevor Cope and one from Nick Karstens.  Ollie Evans turned away 18 of 20 shots for the victory.  In game two, the Knights fell behind early but answered with a goal from Cody Durrwachter (Murphy, Karstens) and Trevor Cope  to take a 2-1 lead into the break.  The Knights again went on a second period tear with 4 goals from Cope, Murphy, Boyd and McEachern.  Nick Karstens put together his best game of the season with 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) and Trevor Cope added a goal for his hat trick and 4 points for the game. Evans turned away 17 of 18 shots for another win and leads the MJHL in win, goal against average and save percentage.  Trevor Cope firmly took the lead in scoring in the MJHL and set a Knights single season record for most points in league play, and that feat has occurred with 18 league games still remaining.

The young Knights take a two week break and then travel to Canada to defend their 2008 Championship in the Paul Coffey Junior Invitational.  The Senior Knights get a much needed break and will resume play on January 2 – 3, 2010, with home games against the rival Wolverines from Charleston.