Smeeton scores back-to-back game-winners as King Junior A Rebellion remains undefeated

By Jim Stewart

Rebellion power forward Adam Smeeton fired game-winning-goals to sink both the Chargers 3-2 in Mississauga on Saturday night and the Niagara Falls Canucks 4-1 at the Zancor Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Five minutes into the second period on Sunday, Jared McNeil disrupted the Canucks' defence with aggressive forechecking, linemate Julius Da Silva slid the turned-over puck to Smeeton who wheeled off the left boards, skated into the left circle, and sniped a wrist shot high blocker side to give King a 2-1 lead.
Smeeton described his third of the season: “It was a quick shot on a great pass off the boards. It was a good line effort.”
Smeeton and McNeil clicked on the power play for the game-winner on Friday night in Mississauga, with some help from 6'6”, 230-pound King winger Matthew Legge, who served as a human billboard in front of Chargers' goaltender Lukas Boudreau. Smeeton's man-advantage goal broke a 2-2 tie less than two minutes into the third period. The second-year Rebellion winger described the decisive marker: “Every time we're on the power play and Legge is in front of the net, all I can hear from goalies is ‘I can't see!' We got a shot in from the point and it landed off my foot and I was able to fire it in. Our power play needed to get more shots on the net and it started on Saturday night.”
McNeil and Smeeton's hard work on the power play was rewarded again on Sunday afternoon when the veteran duo closed the scoring versus Niagara Falls. In the final minute of play in the third period, power play stalwarts Ryan Castle and Smeeton set up McNeil in the open space of the Canucks' PK box defence. King's captain made no mistake as he fired a low shot through the scrum that found its way through Williams's pads and restored King's three-goal margin.
McNeil's third of the season assured the Rebellion's fourth consecutive victory and Smeeton shared his satisfaction about his club's perfect record thus far: “Starting 4 and 0 is great. It's a hot start, but no one is getting too excited. We're moving on to our next game, especially with a four-game week coming up. Our offensive depth – with all four lines going well – is going to help us going forward. The coaching staff has put its faith in all our players and we rolled lines all game. We've put two returning guys on each line which brings experience for our rookies who are really playing well, too. Our rookies are gaining experience on lines paired up with guys in their second or third year of junior.”
One of those rookies shining for the Rebellion during Sunday's home game was goaltender Gunner Wolfe who was making his first start of the season. Wolfe turned in a sparkling 27-save performance and many of the stops were sensational, especially when he repelled two breakaways and foiled a dangerous 2-on-1 with six minutes remaining and the outcome of the game undetermined. The first-year goaltender lost his shutout bid with 2:08 left to play when Rafek Dianov rattled the puck off the right post from a bad angle which ricocheted off the cross bar, hit Wolfe in the back, and dropped into the net to get the Canucks on the board. McNeil's power play marker muted any comeback attempt by the visitors and helped earn Wolfe his first OJHL win.
Equally impressive has been the play of Wolfe's goaltending partner Logan Kennedy who turned in a 33-save performance on Saturday night and improved his record to 3-0-0-0 with a 1.64 GAA. Kennedy's crew kept on rolling in Mississauga. Brayden Grima – hot off his hat trick last Sunday versus Buffalo – opened the scoring at the Port Credit Memorial Arena 7:48 into the first period.
The rookie winger's line struck again less than three minutes later when Justin Pavese beat Boudreau, earning the second assist of the period for veteran left winger Marshall McCharles. Grima earned his first helper of the season on Pavese's first period goal that gave the Rebellion a 2-0 lead.
Pavese's slick playmaking prowess manifested itself in Sunday's contest, too, when he drew three Canucks defenders to him and feathered a slot pass to McCharles who one-timed the puck past Williams. McCharles's second of the season gave King a 3-1 lead at 15:38 of the third period. It was the Pavese-McCharles-Grima line's sixth goal in three games.
King Township's Junior A hockey club has a busy upcoming schedule with four games in seven days. King (4-0) hosts Newmarket (3-2) on Sunday, September 27 at 3 p.m. The Rebellion will travel to Caledon (3-1-1) to take on the Admirals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 25 and will hit the road to Georgetown (2-4-1) to play the Raiders at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29, wrapping up the first month of their OJHL schedule.