Spitfires Junior C Hockey Club, Aylmer, Ontario Canada

March 4, 2007
Spitfires Lose in Double OT

Playing before their largest home crowd of the season, the Aylmer Junior C Spitfires were foiled again in advancing past the first round of the playoffs by their nemesis Norwich Merchants.
A 5-4 overtime win by the Merchants on Saturday night once again gave them the semi-final series four games to two. Aylmer had extended the series to six games with their own 5-4 overtime victory in game five last Wednesday.
In game six, the Spitfires fought back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to send the game into overtime. Defenseman Ryan Fletcher had cut the lead to 4-3 on a long wrist shot from the blue line.
Five minutes later, Scott Borrows scored his second goal of the game on a similar shot from the blue line. The goal was on the power play, the teams’ only goal in five power play chances.
Aylmer fell behind 1-0 midway in the first period on one of Norwich’s three power play goals of the game. Merchant forward Chris Durham had himself a night to remember as he scored his first of four goals to give the visitors a short-lived 1-0 lead.
Short-lived because Aylmer sniper Rob Vanwynsberghe notched his fifth goal of the playoffs just thirty-one seconds later. Both teams entered the first intermission locked up at one goal each.
Scott Borrows gave the Spits a 2-1 lead scoring on a breakaway goal. Vanwynsberghe gave Scott a nice stretch pass that allowed Scott to split the defense and go in all-alone on the goalie and he scored on a well-placed wrist shot.
Durham scored his second of the game again on the power play and then completed his hat trick at the 3:40 mark of the second period to make the score 3-2 after two periods of play.
Durham did not stop there as he notched his fourth of the night, third while on a power play, early in the third for a 4-2 Norwich lead.
After Ryan Fletcher and Scott Borrows goals, the game went into overtime. The game would not be decided in the first ten minutes of extra time. In the second extra period of play, Norwich would send the capacity crowd home by netting the winner with 2:20 expired in the period.
Shaun Geerts made from a pass along the boards to Captain Geoff Patton who then quickly re-directed the pass by a sprawling Brandon Rohrer in the Spits goal. The game six win was the fourth time in four years the Merchants eliminated the Spitfires in the opening round of playoffs in six games.
It was a disheartening loss for the Spitfires after they extended the series back to Aylmer after a gutsy 5-4 OT wins in Norwich in game 5 on Wednesday night.
John Ralf scored his second goal of the game to give Aylmer a 4-3 lead early in the third period. Norwich was able to tie the game at four and send the game into overtime.
Rob Vanwynsberghe proved to be the hero on that night as he scored his second goal of the game for the game-winner. Scott Borrows worked hard to get the puck to the net for the Spits and Rob was in a great position to knock in the winning goal.
Brandon Rohrer stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced to earn the win.
With the hockey season now done, the focus for the Spitfire organization will turn to fundraising in the spring and summer. A fish fry and dance is scheduled for March 31 at the EECC and don’t forget about the annual golf tournament in July. Look for dates and details in your weekly paper.

February 14, 2007
Spitfires Even Series at One

Jeff Gardner scored twice and added two assists to lead the Aylmer Spitfires to a come from behind 7-6 win against the Norwich Merchants. The victory ties the Niagara West division semi-final at one game each.
Norwich appeared ready to take a two games to none lead after the opening period as they jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Spitfire John Ralf had scored with just one minute after the opening face off but the Merchants took advantage of a five-minute penalty assessed against Aylmer.
Two power play goals and one even-strength goal by Norwich gave them the first period lead.
The second period had plenty of scoring as Aylmer got back into the game by scoring four times. Specialty teams were the factor again in the second as both teams scored twice while on the power play.
Aylmer veteran forward Scott Borrows scored on the power play to cut the lead to 3-2. Rookie Spitfire Curtis Maracle then tied the game just fifty seconds later. The Merchants reclaimed the lead only to have Jeff Gardner even the score at four with a power play marker.
The two teams entered the third period all knotted up at five. Ryan Devos of the Merchants gave the home team a lead once again. The Spitfires refused to concede them the win as Scott Borrows scored his second of the game to set the stage for Jeff Gardner.
Gardner scored an unassisted goal, his third of the series, with 1:57 to play to give the visiting Spitfires the win.
The Spitfires’ power play unit went 2 for 9 compared to Norwich’s 4 goals on the power play in thirteen attempts.
Brandon Rohrer picked up the win stopping thirty-one of the thirty-five shots on goal. Aylmer fired only 19 shots on goal but had seven of them found the back of the net.
GAME 1 NORWICH 3 AYLMER 1
The series began on February 14th in Aylmer with Norwich leaving town with a 3-1 victory.
Jeff Gardner’s goal at 8:18 of the first period opened the scoring with assists being credited to John Ralf and Adam Vandepoele. Aylmer appeared to take a 2-0 lead as Aylmer slid the puck into the net on a goal crease scramble.
The referee however disallowed the goal as he lost sight of the puck just before it was knocked in by Aylmer and blew the whistle. The very next trip down the ice by Norwich had Geoff Patton score on a wrist shot to tie the game at one.
The Spitfires had another bad break in the second period when forward Rob Vanwynsberghe missed a chance on a breakaway. After the attempt, the Norwich defender took some liberties with Rob while he was prone on the ice. There was no penalty call on and as the play resumed towards Aylmer’s end, Patton scored his second goal of the game giving them a 2-1 lead after two.
The third period had yet another tough break for the Spits as some confusion by goaltender Brandon Rohrer had him leaving the net for an extra attacker on what the team thought was a delayed penalty call being called against Norwich.
There was no delayed penalty being called and by the time Rohrer scurried back into his net, Merchant forward Shaun Geerts scored to make the final 3-1.
The series resumes this weekend with three games. Game three will be back in Norwich at 8:00 pm on Friday. Game four will be in Aylmer at 7:30 pm before the series heads back to Norwich on Sunday evening for a 7:00 start time.
The Norwich Merchant fans always fill the Norwich arena for their home play off games so it is time for the Aylmer Spitfire fans to do the same this Saturday night for game four. Let’s fill the rink and cheer the Spits on!

February 14, 2007
Game 1 – Spitfires vs Merchants

Yes hockey fans, it is February and for the Niagara Junior C West Division, that means playoff time. And once again, it means Aylmer Spitfires versus the Norwich Merchants in Round one.
This is the fourth consecutive year these two teams have faced one another in the first round. As to not to dwell on the past, the results need not be mentioned and a look into this years match up will be done instead.
The Norwich Merchants remained in first place for most of the year. A late season swoon had them go 4-4-1-1 in their last ten games. The Simcoe Storm was hot down the stretch and overtook Norwich to win the West division title. The Merchants still had a very impressive 24-9-2-1 record for 51 points.
The Aylmer Spitfires also had an impressive 2006-07 record of 23-10-2-1 for 49 points. It was the teams’ best win loss record in their four years of Junior C action.
The two teams faced off six times during the regular season. Norwich had the advantage winning four times, losing once, and one game ending in a tie. Norwich scored 25 times to Aylmer’s 15 in the six games.
KEYS TO VICTORY
In years past and many still say that keys to victory in any playoff series will be the goaltending. This may be the case again in this match up but with the new rules instituted at the beginning of the year, a key to winning may be the team who stays out of the penalty box.
The Spitfires averaged 23.5 minutes in penalties a game compared to 31.6 minutes for Norwich. Defenseman Ryan Fletcher of the Spitfires led his team on the power play with 11 goals. Norwich had three players in double digits with the man advantage – Shaun Geerts and Geoff Patton with 13 each and Chris Durham with 10.
Getting back to the goalies, Aylmer will likely go with number one starter Brandon Rohrer. Brandon played in twenty-nine games, finishing with a 16-10-1 record and a goal against average of 3.82 a game. Brandon also finished first in the league in save percentage at 90.4.
The Spitfire forwards will not be able to key in on one particular Norwich goalie as they truly had a team effort in net all season long. Karl Petersen and Mark Robb both played in twenty games and posted identical records of 12 wins, five losses, and one tie. Petersen had a 3.09 GAA and Robb had a 3.43 GAA.
Offensively both teams can fill the net. Aylmer fired 166 pucks in the opposing goal for an average of 4.6 goals a game. Norwich scored 183 times this year, an average of 5.1 goals per game.
Leading the way for the Spitfires will be Rob Vanwynsberghe. Rob had 28G, 32A, for 60 points for fourth overall in the West division. Rob also scored a Niagara Junior C best seven short-handed goals.
An advantage Aylmer may have is the balance scoring as they had eight players score at least ten goals. Team Captain Nathan Gavey (12G,31A,43Pts), Ryan Fletcher (18G,16A,34Pts), and Jeff Gardner (15G,18A,33Pts) are veteran players that could help lead the Spits to a first round victory.
Norwich will be lead by Shaun Geerts who finished second in scoring in the West Division with 30 goals, 38 assists for 68 points. Right behind him was Geoff Patton in third with 32 goals, 31 assists and Danny Vaughan with 20 goals and 28 assists.
The statistics and the win-loss record against each other can now all be thrown out the window as season two is here. Both teams know each other very well. Both know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Both teams have the will and desire to win. May the better team win.
Let the games begin!

February 10, 2007
Record Wins for Spitfires

The Aylmer Spitfires Junior C hockey club completed their most successful regular season in their short four-year existence by recording their twenty-third win on Saturday night.
A 10-3 blow out of last place Paris Mounties gave the Spitfires their 23rd win against nine losses, two ties, and one overtime loss for 49 points. The win surpasses last season’s output of twenty wins, the 19 wins in 2004 – 05, and the twelve wins in their inaugural season.
In the game versus Paris, Aylmer jumped on the visiting Mounties early by taking a 4-1 lead. Two even strength goals, a short-handed goal, and one of the power play had the Spits roaring ahead and they never looked back.
Three more goals in the second frame, including their second short-handed marker of the game, had the home team up 7-3 heading into the third period. The final twenty minutes had Aylmer score three unanswered goals to give Aylmer the home ice victory.
Leading the attack for Aylmer was Rob Vanwynsberghe with a three-goal performance and an assist. The hat trick gave Rob 28 goals on the year and along with his 32 helpers for 60 points, enabled Rob to finish seventh in scoring in the West division.
The Spitfires had four players earn three points in the game. Adam Vandepoele and Kyle Morrison each had three assists; John Ralf had a goal and an assist, and Jeff Gardner chipped in two goals and one assist.
Rounding out the scoring was Ryan Fletcher, Jake Matzanke, Curtis Maracle, and Scott Borrows.
A key to the victory for the Spitfires was the penalty killing teams. Aylmer had to defend eleven straight minor penalties in the last half of the game. Aylmer allowed only one power play goal in that stretch and scored one short-handed.
Aylmer still dominated the game even with the steady flow of players to the sin bin. Aylmer permitted only five shots on goal in the third period and a total of 22 for the game. Aylmer fired 48 shots on the Paris goalie.
Aylmer’s Brandon Rohrer picked up his sixteenth win against ten losses.
SIMCOE 5 AYLMER 4
Aylmer closed out the regular season in Simcoe on Sunday night. A week ago,
the match up had potential to be a critical game for positioning in the standings but with Simcoe’s 4-3 win over Woodstock on Friday night and Norwich’s 4-3 win over New Hamburg, Aylmer’s fate was sealed.
Aylmer could no longer catch Simcoe or Norwich in the standings and finished the year in third place.
The game still had to be played and a win over the Storm, who had not lost a game since January 5th, would be a confidence boost for the Spitfires as they head into the post season.
Aylmer took a two to one lead in the opening period on goals by Rob Vanwynsberghe and Scott Borrows. Simcoe bounced back in the second period and scored twice to Aylmer’s one goal. Ryan Fletcher scored a power play goal, his 18th, to tie the game at three after two.
Sam Braund scored his first goal of the year for the Spits to give them a 4-3 lead, which held up until the last five minutes of the game. A goal with 4:29 to go by Simcoe tied the game and then Simcoe’s Mac Cook scored his 50th goal of the year with just 2:16 to play giving Simcoe the 5-4 win.
Brandon Rohrer was solid in goal as he stopped 39 of 44 shots fired on him. Aylmer fired 42 shots on goal and was 1 for 9 on the power play.
The second season is now upon the Spitfires. The playoffs start Wednesday February 14 at 7:30 in Aylmer against their annual playoff contenders, the Norwich Merchants.
Game two is slated for Friday night in Norwich at 8:00pm. The two teams will take the week off before lacing them up again on Friday the 23rd in Norwich; again at 8:00 pm. Game four will be Saturday February 24 back in Aylmer for a 7:30 start.
Playoff hockey is the most exciting hockey to watch so be sure to come to the arena and cheer the Spitfires on.

February 4, 2007
Spitfires Lose in Overtime

The Aylmer Spitfires lost a 4-3 overtime decision on Saturday night to the Simcoe Storm leaving them in third place in the Niagara Junior C West division. The Spitfires have two games to play this weekend to complete their regular season schedule.
Aylmer will host the Paris Mounties this Saturday night and then travel down to Simcoe for the last game of the regular season. The Spitfires trail Simcoe and Norwich by three points in the standings.
In Saturday’s contest, Aylmer’s team defense was put to the test, as they had to hold off the highflying offence of the Storm. The Storm leads the league with 227 goals for an average of 6.70 goals a game.
Aylmer had a difficult task at hand as they attempted to shut down top scorer Mac Cook of the Storm and their newest scoring threat Cam Sault. Cook once again leads the league in scoring with 47 goals, adding 59 assists for 106 points in just 34 games played.
Storm forward Cam Sault has also been on a scoring tear as he has notched 25 goals with 28 assists for 53 points in only 17 games. Both Cook and Sault are averaging 3.1 points a game.
Aylmer’s strategy was to have Spitfire forward John Ralf shadow Cook all night long, all over the ice. Cook still found a way to get on the score sheet as he assisted on three goals, including an assist on the game winner in overtime.
Sault kept his pace up as well as he scored twice and also added on the game-winning goal.
The two teams exchanged goals in the first period and then each scored twice in the second period to have the game tied at three after two periods of play.
Spitfire Jeff Gardner scored his thirteenth goal on a partial breakaway. He picked up a long bank pass off of the boards from Adam Vandepoele then broke in alone and slipped the puck through the legs of the Simcoe netminder.
Nathan Gavey notched his 12th of the season on a giveaway by the Simcoe goalie. Gavey intercepted a clearing attempt by the goalie who was behind his net. Gavey had the empty net to tie the game at two. Kory Kuipers scored his first goal of the year after receiving a pass from Kyle Morrison and releasing a quick snap shot into the net.
After a scoreless third period, the two teams prepared for overtime. It appeared Aylmer wasn’t fully prepared as the Spitfires loss the face off, loss the race to the loose puck along Aylmer’s blue line, and then left a Simcoe forward all alone. A quick backhanded pass allowed the forward to go in and wrist a high shot for the game-winner. It took all of eight seconds to win the game for the Storm.
Brandon Rohrer was in goal for the Spitfires, stopping 40 of the 44 shots he faced. Aylmer fired 31 shots at the Simcoe goal.
The loss leaves the Spitfires with a record of 22-9-2-1 for 47 points. Simcoe are in a tie for first with Norwich, each with 50 points. Norwich has one game left versus New Hamburg and Simcoe hosts Woodstock Friday before entertaining Aylmer on Sunday.
The playoffs will begin the following week so be sure to check out next weeks paper for dates and game times.

January 27, 2007
Spitfires in Dogfight

TThe Aylmer Junior C Spitfires have found themselves in the middle of a dogfight for playoff positioning in the Niagara West Division. Only eight points separate the four playoff teams with the last few remaining games to be played.
Aylmer had a good opportunity to take-over first place on Saturday night when they hosted the Norwich Merchants. With Aylmer’s 5-2 victory over the Paris Mounties on January 24th combined with Norwich’s 6-4 loss to Woodstock on Friday night, both teams entered the contest tied for first with 46 points.
It was obvious the visiting Merchants did not want to relinquish first place, a position that they have held all season long. They came out flying in the opening period and scored four unanswered goals, three of which came on the power play, staking them to an insurmountable lead.
The Spitfires did make a game of it as they battled back to get within one goal with over thirteen minutes to play in the game. Norwich was able to regain their two-goal lead a few minutes later. Captain Nathan Gavey made the score 6-5 on a nice deflection on shot from Adam Vandepoele but Aylmer could not get the sixth goal to tie the game.
Other scorers for Aylmer were Rob Vanwynsberghe with two, Curtis Maracle, John Ralf, and Nathan Gavey all chipping in one goal.
Brandon Rohrer faced 35 shots in the loss and Aylmer’s power play was a woeful 0 for 10.
In the Paris game, Curtis Maracle led the charge with two goals while John Ralf, Adam Vandepoele, and Nathan Gavey each scored once. Brandon Rohrer was in net for the Spits and turned aside 33 of 35 shots against the winless Paris team.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
If the playoffs were to start today, the team to watch may not be the first place Norwich or the defending champions Simcoe Storm, or the local favourite Aylmer Spitfires.
The team to watch could be the Woodstock Navy-Vets. The Vets are 9-1 in their last ten games. During that stretch Woodstock has defeated Norwich two times and the Grimbsy Peach Kings who are in first place in the East division.
The Vets are currently in fourth place with 40 points. They will likely finish in fourth as they trail Aylmer by six points with three games to play. All Aylmer needs is one point in one of their last three games to keep Woodstock in fourth place.
Aylmer has dropped to third place with 46 points. They have two more home games, against Simcoe and Paris, then travel to Simcoe for the last regular season game.
A third place finish may not be such a bad thing for the Spitfires as they have a very impressive road record at 14 wins and only 3 losses. The third place team would start the playoffs on the road against the second place team.
Simcoe holds second place with 46 points also but they have four games to play. They trail first place Norwich by two points. The two teams face off on Friday night in Norwich for a key match up. Simcoe’s remaining games are against the red hot Woodstock team and two versus the Spitfires.
Should Norwich be victorious against the Storm this Friday, they should hang on to first place as they would have two games left against New Hamburg and Paris.
The games remaining for all teams have playoff implications so the intensity will be high. Be sure to be at the Complex this Saturday night February 3rd, as Aylmer will host Simcoe. Game time will be 7:30 pm.

January 23, 2007
Veterans Step Up for Spitfires

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires won both of their games over the weekend to remain in second place in the Niagara Junior C West division. The team was lead by veteran players that continue to be the force behind the teams’ success.
Spitfire leading scorer Rob Vanwynsberghe, Captain Nathan Gavey, forward Jeff Gardner, and defenseman Rob DeSutter all contributed to the Spits 4-1 win over Norwich on Friday night and then a 6-5 victory on home ice against Chippawa Saturday night.
In Saturday’s game, Vanwynsberghe scored twice and added one assist; Gavey added a goal and three helpers, Gardner and DeSutter both chipped in a goal and an assist to lead the attack. DeSutter’s goal was the game winner with 1:08 left to play in the third period.
The game turned out to be closer than it should have been as Aylmer scored four times in the second period to take a 5-3 lead. The Spits appeared to be protecting that lead well into the latter stages of the third period until five straight penalties by the Spits allowed the River Hawks to score twice to even the game at five.
DeSutter gave the home crowd something to cheer about as he received a pass from Rob Vanwynsberghe from along the sideboards in the high slot. A well-placed wrist shot to the top corner gave Aylmer their sixth and deciding goal.
Brandon Rohrer earned the victory in goal as he stopped 30 of 35 shots he faced.
Aylmer 4 Norwich 1
Aylmer traveled to Norwich on Friday January 19th and skated away with a 4-1 win. It was Aylmer’s first win against the Merchants this season. The two teams have skated to one tie and Norwich has won three leading up to this game and the Spits have been outscored 19-7 in the four games.
Brandon Rohrer had another strong game in goal for the Spitfires as he stopped a whopping 46 of 47 shots. He faced fifteen shots in the first with Aylmer firing only nine at the Norwich. The first period closed with a 0-0 tie.
Spitfire forward Adam Vandepoele broke free for two goals, his ninth and tenth goals on the year, in the second frame and Rohrer turned aside 14 shots as a late power play goal by Norwich sent the game into the third with Aylmer up 2-1.
Jeff Gardner notched his eleventh goal of the year just two minutes into the third while on the power play. Once again Rohrer made the two goal lead hold up as he stopped all 17 shots fired upon him in the third. Rob Vanwynsberghe added an empty net goal to make the final 4-1 Spitfires.
Aylmer next game will be this Wednesday evening in Paris at 7:30 pm. The next home game at the EECC will be Saturday night against Norwich Merchants. Game time will be at 7:30 pm.

January 23, 2007
Spitfires Head Down Home Stretch

The 2006-07 Niagara Junior C hockey season is nearing the end of its’ regulation schedule and in the West division, the four playoff teams have been decided. Determining who finishes first to fourth however has to be played out as the teams complete their final five or six games.
Norwich, Aylmer, Simcoe, and Woodstock are all assured a post-season birth as they have eliminated both New Hamburg and Paris. New Hamburg began the season with six wins in their first eight games but have won only twice since. Paris had several first year players on their roster and has had a tough year, as they remain winless.
The standings have tightened up as Norwich has struggled in recent games going 6-3-1 in their last ten games. They remain in first place with 46 points with a record of 22 wins, seven losses, and two ties.
The Merchants have five games left in the schedule, four of which will be played on the road. They visit Woodstock and Aylmer this weekend then will host Simcoe before heading on the road again to close the year in Paris and New Hamburg.
The Aylmer Spitfires have been in second place all season and have narrowed the gap on first place by two points. The 21-8-2 record for 44 points has set team records for most wins in a season and most points. They boast a 9-4-2 record on home ice and a very impressive road mark at 12-4.
The Spitfires also have five games left. They will host Norwich, Paris, and Simcoe and play two on the road. They play in Paris this Wednesday and will close out the season in Simcoe February 11.
The defending Niagara Junior C Champions Simcoe Storm had a slow start by their standards. They opened the season with only 2 wins in their first seven games. But you can argue the Storm have been the best team since as they have only lost three games in regulation and hold a record of 19-7-1-3 for 42 points.
Simcoe has the most games to go with six. They have three on the road against New Hamburg, Norwich, and Aylmer and three at home versus Paris, Woodstock, and Aylmer.
Woodstock Navy Vets have an outside chance at gaining third place. They sit in fourth with 17 wins against 12 losses, 1 tie, and 1 overtime loss for 36 points.
Woodstock has five games remaining. They will host Norwich, Grimsby, and New Hamburg and travel to Simcoe and New Hamburg.
Other races to watch include most wins by a goaltender and best save percentage. In the West Division, Aylmer’s Brandon Rohrer leads in both categories with fourteen wins and a save percentage of 90.7. The two Norwich net minders have shared the workload and both have eleven wins.
Tyler Bennett, also on the Spitfires, has the second best save percentage at 90.2. Tyler has the third best goals against average at 3.34.
The scoring race has been long decided as Simcoe Storm’s Mac Cook has run away with the points. He has 42 goals and 49 assists for 91 points in only 30 games played. He is averaging 3 points a game.
Aylmer’s Rob Vanwynsberghe is fifth in the West division scoring race with 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points.
The Niagara Junior C playoffs are fast approaching. Many would say the games to be played will have the playoff intensity as the teams are fighting for home ice advantage and the confidence of playing well heading into the second season.
Come cheer on the Spitfires down the home stretch and into the playoffs.

January 14, 2007
Spitfires Make Changes

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires are nearing the end of their regular season action and with nine games remaining; a major change has been made.
Brian Cosyns, President of the Spitfires announced that the team has made a coaching change. The team has replaced Head Coach Brian Abbey and Assistant Coach Eugene Lindsay with Steve Thompson. Assistant GM Jeff Morrison will help Thompson on the bench for the next few games.
Cosyns said that the Directors and Executive of the Spitfires met earlier in the week and decided it was a time for a change. The Executive felt that the team needed some new life instilled with the team or a new spark thrown into the mix to bring some added zest to the dressing room and to the on-ice product.
President Cosyns went on to say that the team is ever thankful to both Abbey and Lindsay for the four years of service to the Spitfires. Both coaches had been with the team from the inception of the Spitfires and they have provided their vast experience and knowledge to the players for the betterment of the team.
The hiring of Steve Thompson will bring in fresh ideas, a new outlook, and hopefully those new sparks to the team to get them over the hump come playoff time.
Thompson currently resides in St. Thomas and has coached at many different levels of hockey. He coached five years at Northern University in the States, some Senior A hockey with the Simcoe Gunners, and some Triple AAA hockey locally.
Thompson knows he can adjust to his new team quickly and bring in some new concepts that he has learned over the years to the Spitfires. With the playoffs not too far away, Thompson will be using the last nine games to gain knowledge of what his players can do, make any adjustments that are deemed necessary, and lead them in a successful playoff run.
Coach Abbey left the team that was in second place with a record of 19 wins, 6 losses and 2 ties. He was in his second season as the Head Coach of the Spitfires. He led the team to a team high 20 wins last year and was named Niagara West Division Coach of the Year.
With some key games coming up for the Spitfires, the much-anticipated new spark from the coaching change hopefully will be what the team needs to go deeper into the playoffs. Time will tell if the major change will net the desired results for the Spitfires.

January 14, 2007
Spitfires In Tailspin

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires for the first time this 2006-07 season find themselves in a bit of a tailspin as they have lost four games in a row. A 5-2 loss on Saturday night to Grimsby followed by a 4-1 loss to Simcoe Sunday night has the Spits clinging to second place by one point.
The most games the Spitfires had gone without a win this season was two games. A 1-1 tie followed by a 5-1 loss to Norwich in early December was the longest slump to date.
The current streak of four losses in a row comes with a twist. The 6-3 loss to the Paris Mounties on Saturday January 7th has been turned into a win for the Spitfires. The Mounties had a player on the game sheet even though he was suspended in December.
A protest was lodged to the league and the loss was overturned for Aylmer giving them their 19th win and maintain at that time a three point lead over Simcoe. The Paris player is now suspended a further 24 games which will carry into next season.
GRIMSBY 5 AYLMER 2
On Saturday night, Aylmer hosted the Grimsby Peach Kings from the East division. Grimsby is in their familiar first place in the East division. They entered the game against the Spitfires on a six game winning streak. Tthey have outscored their opponents 49-14 during that stretch.
This game featured the debut of new Head Coach Steve Thompson for the Spitfires. Thompson was hired a few days before this contest and had not seen the Spitfires play a game or had a chance to practice with the team.
Thompson was brought in to bring a new spark to the team and after the opening period, the change seemed to be working to perfection. The hockey displayed in the first period was fact-paced, hard-hitting, and very exciting to watch.
Aylmer was able to jump out to a 1-0 lead on Rob Vanwynsberghe’s fourth shorthanded goal of the year. Rob pounced on a rebound in front of the net and slid the puck in for his team-leading eighteenth goal of the year.
The Spitfires held a “Kids Night” on this night and held extra activities for the 269 kids in attendance during the intermissions. The extra time allowed the Peach Kings to regroup and come out flying in the second period.
Joel Agnew of the Peach Kings scored his first of three goals on the night just fifty seconds into the second period to tie the game. Two more goals by the visitors had the home team Spits trailing by two heading into the third.
Aylmer had a good opportunity to get back into the game as they had a two-man advantage for 1:11 to start the period. Aylmer could not capitalize on their chances on this power play.
Spitfire defenseman Jake Matzanke did score on a late power play chance on a feed from Nathan Gavey from behind the net to cut the lead to 3-2. A couple of mistakes near the end of the game by the Spits prevented any further comeback.
The team tried to pull the goalie for the extra attacker while the puck was in Grimsby’s end but the Aylmer forward joining the action jumped onto the ice too early as the goalie was not close enough to the bench yet. This causes an automatic stoppage in play and the face-off is brought to centre ice.
The goalie had to go back into the net as a result. The face-off was won by Grimsby and the puck was shot deep into the Aylmer end. The defenseman could not see that a Grimsby forward was hot on his trail and the puck was stripped the defenseman.
The forward fed a pass to a teammate in front of the net who buried the puck for the insurance goal. An empty net goal sealed the win for Grimsby 5-2.
SIMCOE 4 AYLMER 1
On Sunday night, Aylmer traveled to Simcoe for a key match up against the Storm. Aylmer leads the Storm by three points with eight games to play, including two more games against the Storm after Sunday’s contest.
Both teams exchanged one goal in the first period. Mike McKinnley scored first for Simcoe before Aylmer’s Rob Vanwynsberghe scored an unassisted goal to tie the game up.
Simcoe scored twice in the second and one more in the third to win 4-1. The win now gives the Storm 39 points, one point shy of Aylmer’s 40 for second place.
Aylmer’s next game will be at Norwich this Friday at 8:00 pm. They will return to the EECC the following night to host the Chippawa Riverhawks of the Eastern division. Game time will be 7:30.

January 7, 2007
Spitfires Lose to Paris

With the number of games dwindling down and the race for a playoff spot tightening, the Aylmer Junior C Spitfires may look back at the game played on Saturday January 7 as the two points they let get away.
The Spitfires still find themselves in second place with 38 points with only nine games to play. They lead the Simcoe Storm by a mere point. The Storm also has nine games to play in the regular season including three against the Spitfires.
Should the Spitfires lose out on home ice advantage over the Storm by a point or two, the two points the Spitfires will no doubt look back on were against the Paris Mounties last Saturday night.
The 18-6-2 Spitfires hosted the winless Paris Mounties. Paris has not won a game in Junior C action since January 28 of last year. A twenty-nine game losing streak came to an end as they defeated the Spitfires 6-3.
The Spits out shot the Mounties every period but were outscored every period by the visitors. John Ralf got the Spitfires on the scoreboard early with a power play goal. The Mounties bounced back 38 seconds later and then took a 2-1 lead into the second period with another goal.
A Paris power play goal midway through the second period gave Paris a two-goal lead heading into the third period. The third period had Aylmer take 13 shots at the Paris net and Paris firing only four shots at the Aylmer net. But again, Paris still outscored Aylmer 3-2 in the third frame.
Aylmer forward’s Matt Hughson and Jeff Gardner scored one goal each to tie the game at three with less than eight minutes to play. But Paris could sense their first victory of the season and poured in two goals in less than three minutes before sealing the win with an empty net goal.
Aylmer will have to forget about the Paris game quickly as three tough opponents are up next for the Spitfires.
KIDS NIGHT
The next home game for the Spitfires will be this Saturday night at 7:30 pm as they host the East division leading Grimsby Peach Kings. The game will be “Kids Night” as kids under 14 will get in for free when accompanied by an adult. The first 200 kids through the gates are guaranteed of a prize and there will be draws for an Ipod and a portable DVD player plus a lot more.
The Spitfires will travel to Simcoe in a key match up the following night and then visit Norwich on Friday January 19.

January 1, 2007
Spitfires Clinch Play Off Spot

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires are headed back to the post season for the fourth consecutive year after a win on Friday night clinched a spot in the play offs.
Aylmer is currently in second place with a record of 18-6-2 for 38 points. The top four teams in the Niagara West division make the play offs. New Hamburg is currently sitting in fifth place with fifteen points and ten games remaining. New Hamburg can only rise to 35 points should they win their last 10 games.
On Friday December 29 the Spitfires traveled to Woodstock for the sixth and final meeting of the year against the Navy Vets. Aylmer won 3-2 continuing their domination over Woodstock. The Spits have won five games and tied one versus the Navy Vets.
Adam Vandepoele scored first for Aylmer in the opening period with Kyle Morrison and Kory Kuipers earning assists.
Chad Howey, playing in just his third game of the season due to injury, scored his first goal of the season to give Aylmer a 2-1 lead. John Ralf and Rob DeSutter were credited with the assists.
Aylmer’s power play scored on their sixth attempt of the game as Rob DeSutter scored with only 2:09 left to play in the game. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Nathan Gavey assisted on the game-winning goal.
Brandon Rohrer earned the victory in goal as he was tested with 45 shots on goal, including twenty in the third period alone. It was Brandon’s twelfth victory against only four losses.
SIMCOE 6 AYLMER 3
The Spitfires hosted the Simcoe Storm the following night at the EECC and fell 6-3. Aylmer spotted Simcoe a 2-0 lead after the first period and allowed them to stretch the lead to 4-0 before finally scoring themselves.
Adam Vandepoele with his eighth of the year, Rob Vanwynsberghe notching his seventeenth, and Nathan Gavey scoring his eighth goal was all the offence the Spitfires could muster against the number one offensive team in the league.
Simcoe has scored 170 goals or an average of 6.8 goals a game. The next closest team is Norwich scoring 126 or 4.8 a game then Aylmer with 123 goals this season.
The 6-3 loss is the Spitfires first defeat against Simcoe this season. Aylmer won the first two contests 10-9 and 7-5. The two teams will meet three times more before the end of the season including the last game of the year in Simcoe.
If the playoffs were to begin today, Aylmer would host Simcoe in the first round. And to the avid Spitfires fan, this could be a nice change as Aylmer has met Norwich in their first three playoff campaigns with the Spits coming out on the short end all three times.
Aylmer’s next two games will be on home ice. The Paris Mounties (0-25) will come to the EECC on Sunday January 7th for a 7:30 start and then the Grimsby Peach Kings (19-5-0-2) will be in town on Saturday January 13th also at 7:30 pm.

December 24, 2006
Spitfires Win Again

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires continued their winning ways on Saturday night with 3-1 victory over the Woodstock Navy Vets. It is the teams’ third win in a row and fourth win this month against only one loss and one tie.
The Spitfires got a first period goal from Rookie Curtis Maracle at 8:09. The goal tied the game after Woodstock opened the scoring at the six-minute mark. John Ralf and Matt Hughson assisted Curtis’ eleventh goal of the year.
The second period went scoreless. Aylmer had a great opportunity to go ahead but went 0-4 with the power play. Woodstock had one chance with the extra man but was turned away by the Spitfires’ penalty killing units.
The game-winning goal came four and a half minutes into the third as John Ralf continued with his hot scoring streak, notching his eighth goal of the year. Curtis Maracle picked up his second point on the night with defenseman Kyle Simpson adding an assist.
Spitfire leading scorer Rob Vanwynsberghe got the insurance marker three minutes later scoring an unassisted goal. It is Rob’s sixteenth goal of the campaign.
Brandon Rohrer improved his record in goal for the Spits to 12 wins against 4 losses, stopping 31 of 32 shots.
The win improves the Spitfires record to 17-5-2 for 36 points. They still trail Norwich (18-5-1) by one point for first place.
Norwich had recently fallen into a bit a slump of late losing three of their last four games. They got back on track as they trounced the winless Paris Mounties 7-1 on Saturday night.
Aylmer will play Woodstock again this Friday night in Woodstock at 7:30 before returning home to host the surging Simcoe Storm. Game time at home is at 7:30 pm also.
Simcoe (14-7-0-2) are in third place and have won five games in a row. They lead the West division with 156 goals for and are led by scoring leader Mac Cook. Cook has 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 points in just 23 games.
Come out and support your Junior C Spitfires!

December 18, 2006
Ralf’s Offence Sparks Spitfires

A key to any hockey team’s success is some secondary scoring, a defense corps chipping in with some timely points, and some strong goaltending.
The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires have had all three recently which has helped them keep pace in the race for first place in the Niagara West Division.
The Spitfires have leaned heavily upon the shoulders of the first line consisting of Rob Vanwynsberghe, Nathan Gavey, and Jeff Gardner for much of their offence. Aylmer native John Ralf has stepped up with that much needed secondary scoring seven points in two weekend victories for the Spitfires. John had one goal and two assists in Saturday’s 6-5 overtime win against Woodstock.
The scoring touch continued for Ralf the next day as he scored again and added three assists in an 8-2 thrashing of the Caledonia Corvairs. The seven points over the weekend for John gives him eighteen in total with 7 goals and 11 assists.
Assistant Captain Ryan Fletcher continues to have a break out year along the blue line for the Spitfires. Ryan scored four times and added two assists in the two weekend games.
Three of Ryan’s goals came on the power play giving him a team leading ten power play goals and a total of 16 goals, which also leads the team.
Other goal scorers in the Woodstock game were Adam Vandepoele and Scott Borrows with two, including the overtime game-winner on a power play.
Brandon Rohrer improved his record to a league high 11 wins against 4 losses with the win. He faced a total of 24 shots on goal.
In Sunday’s game versus Caledonia, Aylmer only had thirteen skaters to compete against the East division second place team. Caledonia entered the contest with a 14-4 record allowing a mere 3.70 goals against per game.
Aylmer jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead then pumped in four more to start the second period. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Ryan Fletcher led the attack with two goals apiece. Nathan Gavey, Matt Baker, Curtis Maracle, and John Ralf all chipped in one goal for the Spits.
Tyler Bennett got the start in goal and turned aside 38 of the 40 shots to earn his fifth victory and improve his goals against average to 3.43 for third best in the West Division.
Aylmer’s next two games will be against the Woodstock Navy Vets in a home and home set. Woodstock travels to Aylmer this Saturday December 23rd at 7:30 pm. Aylmer will make the trip to Woodstock on Friday December 29th for a 7:30 start time.

December 18, 2006
Spitfires Send Four to All Star Game

The Aylmer Spitfires will send four representatives to the Annual Niagara Junior C All Star game. The showcase will take place on Saturday January 6th at 7:00 pm in Dunnville. A skills competition will start at 4:30.
Representing Aylmer will be second year goalie Brandon Rohrer, veteran forwards Nathan Gavey and Rob Vanwynsberghe, and second year defenseman Ryan Fletcher.
Brandon Rohrer leads the Niagara West division with 11 wins so far this season to go against only four losses. Brandon played his minor hockey in Tillsonburg and is in his second year with the Spitfires.
Brandon has faced the most shots on goal (672) and has allowed only sixty four in eighteen games played for a goals against average of 3.82 and a save percentage of 90.5. He is the only goalie in the West to record a shut out this year.
Captain Nathan Gavey is an Aylmer native who played minor hockey in the Aylmer Minor Hockey system. He is returning to the All Star game after competing in last year’s contest held in Aylmer.
Gavey’s strong play has propelled him to tenth in West division scoring with seven goals and twenty-one helpers for 28 points. He has scored twice on the power play and has added two short-handed goals.
Rob Vanwynsberghe is making his third trip to the All Star Classic. Rob hails from Nilestown and played his Minor Hockey in Dorchester.
Rob leads the team in scoring with fifteen goals and twenty-four assists for 39 points. He is second in the point’s race in the West division and fourth overall for the entire Niagara Junior C league.
Defenseman Ryan Fletcher has been an offensive threat all year for the Spitfires leading the team in goals with sixteen. He has added thirteen assists giving him 29 points. Ryan grew up in Dorchester and played Minor hockey there before signing with the Spits.
Fletcher ranks number one amongst defenseman in West Division points and is eighth overall. He is also leading the Spits in power play goals with ten.
The fine play of these four All Stars along with their teammates has contributed to a 16-5-2 record for the Aylmer Spitfires. They sit in second place with 34 points, one point behind front-runners Norwich Merchants.
With thirteen more games on the schedule, the Spits should easily surpass last year’s team record of 20 wins. The team will host the Woodstock Navy Vets this Saturday December 23rd at 7:30 pm. ‘C’ you there!

December 2, 2006
Spitfires’ Rohrer Earns Shut Out

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires earned three of a possible four points on the weekend winning 4-0 in New Hamburg and then skating to a 1-1 tie against the Norwich Merchants. The team now has an eight game undefeated streak going 7-0-1 in that stretch.
Goaltender Brandon Rohrer was the story in the weekend games as he turned aside 69 of the 70 shots he faced and picked up his first shut out of the season. Brandon’s record improved to a league leading ten wins against three losses.
Brandon also has the leagues best save percentage, saving 91% of the 606 shots he has faced so far this season. In allowing only 53 goals, his goal against average is 3.59 for fourth best in that category.
On Friday night, Aylmer traveled to New Hamburg for the fifth meeting between these two teams. Aylmer jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and cruised to the 4-0 win. Aylmer now has a record of 4-1 against the Firebirds with one more meeting to come.
The Spitfires offence was led by John Ralf, with his fourth, Kyle Simpson with his third, and Alex Waugh scoring his fourth goal in the opening period.
Rob Vanwynsberghe scored his thirteenth goal of the year in the third period. Rob leads the team with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points.
In Saturday’s key match up against the first place Norwich Merchants, Brandon Rohrer was the difference yet again.
In a tight checking first period, no one was able to find the back of the net as the Spitfires fired only six shots on goal to Norwich’s seven at the Aylmer net. Norwich opened the scoring midway through the second and took that lead into the third period.
Rohrer was at his best in the last period as he stopped eighteen shots. Nathan Gavey scored his sixth goal of the year with 3:04 remaining in the third and sent the game into overtime.
Both teams fired four shots each in the extra five minutes of play but nobody could score the game-winner. Both teams went 0-9 on the power play in the game.
The tie game allowed Norwich to maintain a one-point lead in the standings in the West division. Norwich sits in first place with a record of 15-2-1 for 31 points. Aylmer’s record is 14-4-2 for 30 points but has played two more games than the Merchants.
The Spitfires get a slight break in the schedule as they only play once in the next two weeks. They travel to Norwich this Friday December 8th for an 8:00 start time. The Spits do not see game action again until December 16th at home against Woodstock at 7:30 pm.

November 25, 2006
Spitfires Win Streak at Six

Adam Vandepoele scored twice and added two assists to lead the Aylmer Spitfires to a 7-2 victory over the Paris Mounties on Sunday afternoon. The win extended the Spitfires streak to six games and improve the teams’ record to 13-4-1.
The Spits were defeated on November 9 to Dundas but have since reeled off six straight victories giving the Spitfires an impressive 7-2 record in November.
With another eight games coming up in December, including back-to- back matches against the first place Norwich Merchants starting nest Saturday in Aylmer, the Spitfires will be in for some very exciting hockey action.
In Sunday’s matinee, the visiting Paris were playing their third game in three days. To make matters worse, the Mounties were also playing with a short bench as they currently have five players on the suspended list.
The Spitfire, not wanting to be the first team to lose to Paris and also wanting to keep pace with the Norwich Merchants who won the night before, came out firing on all cylinders and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead.
Jeff Gardner got things rolling with a goal seven minutes in. Jeff took a pass from Adam Vandepoele and Rob DeSutter, circled the offensive zone before firing a high wrist shot into the net for his ninth goal of the year.
Adam Vandepoele then scored his first of two on the night while killing a penalty. Ryan Fletcher gained control deep in the defensive end, spotted Adam breaking up the middle between the Paris defenders and fed him a long lead pass. Adam went in all alone on a breakaway and scored for the 2-0 Spitfire lead. Aylmer native Kory Kuipers picked up his first point as a Spitfire with the second assist.
Just 41 seconds into the second frame, Captain Nathan Gavey notched his fifth goal after shooting a high wrist shot over the blocker side of the goalie. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Scott Borrows were credited with the assists.
Paris did get on the score sheet with a breakaway goal that just eluded Spits goalie Tyler Bennett. Not to give Paris some false hope of a comeback, Adam Vandepoele quickly restored Aylmer’s three goal lead just 32 seconds later.
Adam was the recipient of a nice pass from Jeff Gardner on a two on one break and with Adam finishing off the play by deking the goalie for his fifth goal of the season. Rob DeSutter picked up his second point on the night with another assist.
The teams exchanged one more goal each before the end of the second. Rob DeSutter picked up his third point by scoring his fourth goal of the year. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Adam Vandepoele assisted on DeSutter’s goal to make the score 5-2 after two.
The final period had a pair of defenseman finding the back of the net. Matt Baker, a new addition to the Spitfire defensive corps, snuck in from the blue line and received a pass from Kyle Simpson. Matt buried a one-timer shot low along the ice for a power play marker. Alex Waugh was also given an assist on the play.
Simpson completed the scoring with his second goal of the year on a high backhand to the glove hand side of the Paris goalie. Nathan Gavey and Scott Borrows earned assists to make the final score 7-2 for Aylmer.
Tyler Bennett won his fourth game stopping 17 of the 19 shots he faced.
Aylmer’s specialty teams were again a factor as the power play clicked once on six attempts. The penalty-killing unit also chipped in with the eleventh short-handed goal of the year. Paris went 0 for 6 with the extra man advantage.
Aylmer next takes to the ice on Friday December 1 in New Hamburg to face-off against the Firebirds for the fifth time this season. Aylmer has won 3 of 4 contests so far against New Hamburg.
The East Elgin Community Complex will be the place to be on Saturday December 2 at 7:30 pm, as the Spitfires will host the Norwich Merchants.
Aylmer has lost the first two meetings to Norwich and will be looking to make a statement on home ice. The Spits have kept pace with the first place Merchants with their six game winning streak but need to beat them to prove to the Merchants that they are in a battle for first place.
And nothing will inspire the team more than to play before a big home crowd in their quest for first place. Be sure to be there and cheer the Spitfires on!

November 19, 2006
Spitfires Earn Six Points

After a very successful week of action, the Aylmer Junior C Spitfires find themselves sitting a single point behind first place and are riding a four game winning streak into this weeks play.
The Spitfires played three games last week and won them all to improve their record to 11-4-1 for 23 points. Norwich currently sits in first place with 24 points but also have two games in hand on the Spitfires.
The week began with two games on the road. Wednesday night the Spits traveled to Paris and won 8-5. A trip down Highway 3 Friday evening to Dunnville had the Spits skate away with a 6-5 win.
The third game of the week was back at home against the New Hamburg Firebird. Aylmer extended its winning streak to four games with a 5-3 victory.
Aylmer’s’ two victories on the road improves their road record to an impressive 7 wins against only 2 losses. They have outscored their opponents 55-41 while on the road. At home they are 4-2-1 scoring 28 times and allowing 26.
AYLMER 8 PARIS 5
The Spits continued the Paris Mounties losing ways with an 8-5 win in Paris. Paris has yet to earn a point in their fourteen games.
After giving up an early power play goal in the opening minute, Aylmer got rolling with four goals in a span of two minutes and fifty-six seconds to end the period up 4-1.
The teams exchanged two goals each in the second frame to make the score 6-3 after two periods of play.
The penalties started to haunt Aylmer as they gave up two more power play goals to get Paris back into the game at 6-5 midway through the third. The more experienced Spitfires never panicked and were able to get two more goals before the game ended to make the final 8-5 Aylmer.
The Spitfires had eight different goal scorers in this contest. Goal scorers were: Rob Vanwynsberghe, Brandon Dymond, Matt Hughson, Jake Matzanke, Alex Waugh, Scott Borrows, Shawn Haviland, and Jeff Gardner.
Nathan Gavey contributed with four assists and defenseman Ryan Fletcher added three helpers. Tyler Bennett earned his third win on the season facing 28 shots on goal.
Aylmer 6 Dunnville 5
The long drive to Dunnville seemed to take some effect on the Spits as they fell behind 2-0 after the opening period. The second period was a different story as Aylmer pumped in four goals but allowed two short-handed goals by Dunnville to tie the game at four after the second period of play.
Aylmer came out firing again at the start of the third period, scoring twice in the first five minutes. The lead held up until the last two minutes as Dunnville scored to make the final score 6-5 Aylmer.
Brandon Rohrer was back in goal for the Spits. He faced a total of 44 shots on goal in winning his seventh game against three losses.
Veteran forwards Scott Borrows and Adam Vandepoele led the attack with two goals each. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Ryan Fletcher added one goal apiece and Captain Nathan Gavey continues to be the set-up man as he earned three assists in this game.
Aylmer 5 New Hamburg 3
Scott Borrows’ hot hand continued on Saturday night as he scored two more times to give him the team lead in that category. Scott now has 12 goals on the season, one more than Rob Vanwynsberghe and Ryan Fletcher.
Scott got things started in the opening period with a power play goal with Vanwynsberghe and Brandon Dymond picking up the assists. Thirty-two seconds later Jeff Gardner and Adam Vandepoele assisted on Jake Matzanke’s third goal of the year to close the first period with Aylmer up 2-0.
The second period had Borrows answer a New Hamburg power play goal with a goal of his own with the man advantage. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Nathan Gavey assisted Scott’s fifth power play goal of the year.
Jeff Gardner, with is eighth and Vanwynsberghe with his eleventh completed the Spits scoring in the game. Kyle Simpson was credited with assists on both those goals and Jake Matzanke and Rob DeSutter got one assist each.
New Hamburg scored two more times in the third period but Aylmer held off the late rally and held on for the 5-3 win. Brandon Rohrer won for the eighth time of the year stopping 30 of he 33 shots he faced.
The Spitfires next game will be this Friday night in New Hamburg. This will be the fourth meeting against the Firebirds with Aylmer winning 3 games out of the 4.
Next Home Game
The Spits have changed their normal home game of Saturday night this week to Sunday afternoon at 2:30 against the Paris Mounties. The Spitfires are taking part in Minor Hockey Week by hosting an afternoon game hoping to get more minor hockey players out to watch some Junior C action. “C” you there!

November 11, 2006
Spitfires Split Two Games

The Aylmer Spitfires played two games last week in Niagara Junior C action, skating to a win and a loss. The Spits still hold onto second place with a record of 8-4-1.
The win for the Spitfires came on home ice on Saturday night versus the New Hamburg Firebirds. Trailing 2-0 late in the second period, Aylmer got its’ offence rolling as they rallied for three unanswered goals and beat the Firebirds 3-2.
After a scoreless first period, New Hamburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead scoring both their goals in a span of one minute and eleven seconds. Aylmer forward Matt Hughson got things started for the Spitfires as he notched his third goal of the season with assists going to John Ralf and Adam Vandepoele.
Aylmer’s point leader Rob Vanwynsberghe evened the game at the 7:09 mark of the third period. Captain Nathan Gavey assisted on Rob’s eighth goal of the year and twenty-second point of the campaign.
Just forty-six seconds later, Aylmer native John Ralf got the winning goal. It was John’s third goal of the season. Newcomer Shawn Haviland and Adam Vandepoele earned assists on the game winner.
Had the Spits power play been effective in this game, the game could have been over quickly as Aylmer had twelve opportunities with the extra man advantage and could not get a goal by the New Hamburg goalie. The penalty killing units however did a great job fending off 10 of 11 power play chances for the Firebirds.
Brandon Rohrer picked up the victory in net for the Spitfires, improving his record to six wins against three losses.
DUNDAS 5 AYLMER 2
On Thursday November 10th, the Spits traveled to Dundas and were defeated 5-2.
Brandon Rohrer was busy once again in goal for the Spitfires as he faced a total of 56 shots on net.
Dundas came out fast and furious in the opening period firing 19 shots on goal and limiting Aylmer to only 6 shots. Aylmer forward Scott Borrows scored his seventh goal of the year in the opening period of play while on the power play. It was Scott’s second goal with the power play unit.
Dundas continued to pepper Rohrer with shots as fourteen were fired in his direction in the middle frame. The Spits mounted more of an attack this period as they took eleven shots towards the Dundas goal.
Defenseman Ryan Fletcher scored his team leading tenth goal of the year. It was Ryan’s fifth goal on the power play, which also leads the team in that category.
The third period belonged to Dundas as they scored three times on twenty-three shots on goal. Aylmer could only muster four shots on goal as they fell 5-2.
The Spits now prepare for a busy stretch of games, as they will play three times in four nights. They will be on the road to play the winless Paris Mounties on Wednesday night and then hit the highway again on Friday evening to visit Dunnville.
The third game of the week for the Spitfires will be back on home ice to face off against the New Hamburg Firebirds. Game time is at 7:30 pm.

November 4, 2006
Spitfires Remain in Second

The Aylmer Spitfires remain in second place in the Niagara Junior C West division with a 6-2 win on Saturday night against the Glanbrook Rangers.
Aylmer now sits alone in second with a 7 win, 3 losses, and a tie for 15 points. They trail the first place Norwich Merchants by three points and are just two points ahead of the New Hamburg Firebirds.
Aylmer hosted Glanbrook in a cross-divisional match-up. Glanbrook are in fourth place in the East division and were coming in on a mini two game losing streak, having lost 11-5 to Dunnville on Wednesday and 2-1 to Caledonia on Friday night.
The Spitfires opened the scoring in the opening period on a goal by Brendan O’ Brien. With just 3:58 expired in the period, Brenden parked himself in front of the net and was the recipient of some hard work done by linemate Kyle Morrison behind the Glanbrook net.
Morrison was able to fend off the Ranger defenseman by using his body size to maintain possession of the puck, then made a soft pass to O’Brien who then quickly fired the puck into the net gave him his fifth goal of the year and a 1-0 lead to the Spitfires. Rob DeSutter also picked up an assist on Aylmer’s first goal.
Penalties were a big factor in the contest as both teams amassed a total of 80 minutes. Glanbrook’s two goals were scored on the power play with Josh Hill scoring his first of the game to even the game at one.
Aylmer rallied just 47 seconds later to regain the lead on an unassisted goal by Jeff Gardner. Gardner shot a hard wrist shot high above the glove hand of the Glanbrook goalie to notch his sixth goal of the year.
A minute and twenty-four seconds later, Curtis Maracle scored his eighth goal on the season on a two on one break with O’Brien. Curtis received a pass in front of the net and taking a lesson from Gardner’s goal, he too went high above the glove hand to give Aylmer a 3-1 lead.
Josh Hill scored his second power play goal of the period for the Rangers and sent the game into the first intermission with the Spits leading 3-2.
In the second period, defenseman Ryan Fletcher took over. Ryan picked up his first of the period on a nice individual effort. After deking by a defender at mid-ice, Ryan went in on the left side and fired a wrist shot in the top left corner.
Fletcher scored his second goal of the game and team leading ninth marker of the season on a power play. Ryan received a cross-rink pass from Rob Vanwynsberghe and slid the puck along the ice that fooled the Ranger goalie.
Brenden O’Brien completed the scoring with Aylmer’s sixth goal of the night. O’Brien tallied his second goal in the game on a late power play opportunity. Curtis Maracle and Sam Braund earned assists on the goal.
Aylmer scored two goals on seven power play chances while Glanbrook also notched twice with the extra man advantage on fourteen tries.
Brandon Rohrer picked up his fifth win of the season in goal stopping 28 of 30 shots he faced.
NORWICH 6 AYLMER 3
On Friday November 3rd, Aylmer traveled to Norwich to face off against the Merchants. The Spits lost their first game of the season while playing on the road.
The Spits have had great success on the road early in the season going 5-0 and out scoring the home teams thirty-six to twenty.
Aylmer led 2-1 after one period and was tied 2-2 after the second only to falter somewhat in the last frame as Norwich scored four times to win 6-3.
Scott Borrows scored a short-handed goal followed by Nathan Gavey’s power play goal by to give Aylmer the early lead. Norwich tied the game with the only goal of the second period and then twice more to start the third for a 4-2 lead.
Rob Vanwynsberghe cut into the Norwich lead scoring his seventh goal of the campaign. Rob is currently in second place in points in the West division with his seven goals added to his thirteen assists.
Norwich was able to get two more goals by Aylmer goalie Tyler Bennett. Tyler took his first loss of the season against two wins and a tie. He faced 43 shots in the game.
Other Junior C results over the weekend were: Woodstock 3 Simcoe 2 and Dunnville 4 New Hamburg 3 on Friday evening. Norwich suffered only their second loss of the year on Saturday to Grimsby 5-1.
Aylmer’s next action will be in Dundas on Thursday and then they will host the New Hamburg Firebirds on Saturday November 11 at 7:30 at the EECC.
By: Gus Lagrandeur

October 21, 2006
Spitfires Split Weekend Games

The Aylmer Spitfires played two games over the weekend and came away with a 5-2 win and a 4-2 loss. The team now boasts a record of 4 wins, two losses, and one tie for 9 points, to sit in third place in the Niagara Jr. C West Division.
The Spits traveled to Woodstock on Friday October 20 for a match up against the Navy-Vets. The two teams had just faced each other in Aylmer last Saturday with the game coming to a 4-4 draw.
Both teams exchanged power play goals in the opening period. Kyle Morrison scored his first goal of the season at 9:19. Ryan Fletcher and Brenden O’Brien were credited with the assists.
The two clubs continued their close game into the second period as the shots on goal were even at ten for the period. The game total now stood at 22 for Aylmer and 21 for Woodstock.
The power play clicked again for the Spits as Ryan Fletcher scored at 5:32 of the second period to tie the game at two. Jeff Gardner assisted on Ryan’s fifth goal of the year.
The third period has been the best for the Spitfires in recent games. The Spitfires scored three times in the game last week against the Navy-Vets and had a four-goal third period outburst in Simcoe the previous week.
This game would prove no different as Aylmer scored three more times, all on the power play to seal the 5-2 victory.
Last season’s top point leader Jeff Gardner got back on track scoring twice with the man advantage. Helpers went to Rob Vanwynsberghe, Ryan Fletcher, and Kyle Morrison.
Newcomer Brandon Dymond earned an assist on one of Gardner’s goals as well as earning a point with an assist on Aylmer’s fifth goal, scored by Brenden O’Brien.
Brandon Rohrer was in goal for his third win of the year stopping 29 out of 31 shots he faced.
NEW HAMBURG 4 AYLMER 2
On Saturday night, Aylmer hosted the New Hamburg Firebirds and lost the game 4-2.
New Hamburg has recuperated well from their opening night 8-3 loss to the Spitfires, as they now are all alone in second place with a 5–2-0-1 record.
The opening period had no scoring as Brandon Rohrer turned aside fifteen Firebird shots on goal. Aylmer could only muster seven shots at the New Hamburg goalie Greg Needham.
The second period started with Aylmer on a two-man advantage and the Spits were quick to capitalize with the extra attackers. Aylmer jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Brenden O’Brien continued his hot weekend scoring his fourth goal of the year followed by Adam Vandepoele netting his first goal.
New Hamburg bounced back with a power play goal of their own and scored again at the 5:20 mark to send the game tied at two after two.
As stated earlier, the third period has been Aylmer’s best period. They have been coming out from the second intermission firing on all cylinders and scoring frequently to win the games. The Firebirds were not about to let that happen on this night.
The Firebirds fired two more goals by Rohrer to earn the 4-2 win.
Final shots on goal for the game were New Hamburg 39, Aylmer 29.
The loss for the Spitfires gives them a 1-2-1 record on home ice. The team is a perfect 2-0 away from home, which bodes well as they have three straight road games beginning this Friday in Woodstock.
The Spits will play the next night in Paris against the winless Mounties and will travel to Norwich on November 3rd to meet up with the undefeated Merchants.
The Spitfires next home game will be Saturday November 4th at 7:30 pm versus the Glanbrook Rangers.

By: Gus Lagrandeur

October 14, 2006
Spitfires Get Tie with Navy-Vets

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires hosted the Woodstock Navy-Vets on Saturday October 14 and played to a 4-4 tie.
Tyler Bennett started his first game in goal as a Spitfire. Tyler was credited with the win last week in Simcoe, coming into the game in the third period and stopping 14 of 15 shots as Aylmer rallied to a 10-9 win.
In Saturday’s game, Tyler stopped 38 of the 42 shots fired upon him to improve his record to one win and a tie with a 3.53 goals against average.
The Spitfires had trouble taking advantage of the home ice advantage as Woodstock jumped out to a 2-1 first period lead and then extended the lead to 3-1 after the second frame.
Rob DeSutter scored Aylmer’s lone goal in the first period. It was a power play goal with Rob Vanwynsberghe getting the assist.
For the second game in a row, it seemed Aylmer would take control of the game with a spirited third period comeback. Aylmer scored four times in the third period against Simcoe last week to steal a win away from the Storm.
Against Woodstock this week, Aylmer scored three times to take a one-goal lead into the final minute of play. Curtis Maracle scored his sixth goal of the year with assists going to Brandon Dymond and Rob DeSutter to cut into Woodstock’s lead.
Kyle Simpson then tied the game with less than three minutes to go. Kyle Morrison and Nathan Gavey earned assists on Simpson’s first goal of the season.
Aylmer received a power play opportunity, their eighth such chance this game and Scott Borrows capitalized to give the Spits the lead with 1:25 to play in the game.
Forwards Jeff Gardner and Rob Vanwynsberghe assisted on Scott’s fourth goal of the campaign.
Woodstock then pulled their goalie out of the net for the extra attacker and was able to get the equalizer with 46 seconds remaining sending the game into overtime.
In the extra five-minute period, Aylmer out shot Woodstock 8-4 but could not find the winner allowing each team to earn one point in the contest. Aylmer’s power play went 2 for 8 and the penalty killing teams had a good game allowing only one goal on ten chances for Woodstock.
The third place Aylmer (3-1-1) will travel to the fourth place Woodstock (2-1-1) for a Friday night tilt on October 20th start time of 7:30 pm. The Spits return home Saturday October 21st to host the second place New Hamburg Firebirds who have a 4-2 record. Game time will be at 7:30 pm.

By: Gus Lagrandeur

Spitfires Win Shoot Out

Here are a few mind-boggling stats for you - one hundred and ten shots on goal, nineteen goals, and fifty-four points registered. These statistics are not from a best of three series between two teams. It all happened in just sixty minutes.
The Aylmer Spitfires improved their season record to three wins and one loss after a come from behind 10-9 victory over the Simcoe Storm on Sunday night.
Coaches are always wanting their players to be responsible in the defensive end to prevent scoring chances against their team. But in some cases, as in this game versus Simcoe, the best defense was a great offense. Aylmer had twelve of their sixteen skaters earn at least one point with John Ralf and Captain Nathan Gavey leading the charge with four points each.
Both goalies in the game, Spitfires Brandon Rohrer and the Storms’ Roman Lubek, may consider legal action for non-support from their teammates as both net minders were bombarded with shots from the opening face off.
Aylmer fired twenty-one shots to Simcoe’s twenty in the first period alone. After two frames, Aylmer had a total of thirty-three shots and Simcoe had taken 43 on the Aylmer net. In many contests, that is a high total for three periods of play.
The final tally was Simcoe 58 shots, Aylmer 52. But the most important stat is always how many got behind the goaltenders and Aylmer managed to get one more by the Simcoe goalie to earn the win.
Aylmer jumped out to a 5-3 staked by a five goal outburst in just over six minutes The Spits were led by John Ralf with two, Matt Hughson, Curtis Maracle, and Scott Borrows adding one each.
It was Simcoe’s turn to fill the net in the second period as they outscored Aylmer 5-1 to take an 8-6 lead. Four of the six goals in the period were scored on the power play with Spitfire Ryan Fletcher tallying his third goal of the year.
The Spitfires made a change in goal at the start of the third period giving Rookie goalie Tyler Bennet his first taste of Jr. C action. Tyler was up to the challenge as he stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced and earned his first win.
Aylmer scored four goals in the final period to take a 10-8 lead. Nathan Gavey got the puck rolling in the Spits favour netting his first of the season. Scott Borrows and Ryan Fletcher each tallied their second goal of the game to jump ahead of the Storm.
Borrows completed his hat trick at the eleven-minute mark with assists going to Adam Vandepoele and John Ralf. Simcoe scoring force Mac Cook made it close again bringing his team within one with only a minute to play. Aylmer was able to hold off the charge of the Storm and earn the tough road victory.
Other Spitfire stars on this night included Rob Vanwynsberghe with three helpers, John Ralf with two goals and two assists, and Ryan Fletcher with two goals and one assist.

NORWICH 6 AYLMER 1
Aylmer hosted the Norwich Merchants on Saturday night and lost a battle of the unbeaten 6-1.
Both teams entered the game with two wins in their first two contests. Aylmer traveled to New Hamburg for their season opener and came away with an 8-3 victory. Game two was back in Aylmer against Simcoe with Aylmer winning 7-5.
Norwich won two games against Woodstock 4-3 and 7-3 to start their year.
Norwich came out flying on Saturday night, applying pressure on Aylmer’s defense. Aylmer was trapped in their own end zone most of the period allowing Norwich to out shoot Aylmer 17-3 and take a 3-0 lead.
The Spitfires were never in this game as they scored only once on a third period power play with Jeff Gardner notching his first of the year.
Aylmer’s next game will be Saturday October 14 at 7:30 pm against the Woodstock Navy-Vets.

February 11, 2006
Spitfires Break Win Record

The Aylmer Junior C Spitfires won a pair of games on the final weekend of the regular season to established a new team record for wins with twenty. The two wins gave the Spits a final regular season record of 20 wins, 14 losses, and 2 ties for a total of 42 points. Last season the Spits won nineteen games.
On Saturday night, the Spitfires traveled to Paris to square off against the Mounties. The Mounties had just been eliminated from play off contention and were still feeling the affects of their number one goalie being out with a 15 game suspension.
The Spitfires took little time taking advantage of the Mounties by scoring three in the first period, adding four more in the middle frame, then capped the evening off with six more to make the final 13-1. Paris scored their lone goal with just 22 seconds left to spoil the shut out bid for Spitfire goalie Brandon Rohrer.
Leading the attack for the Spitfires was Adam Scott with three goals and one assist, Jeff Gardner with one goal and three assists, and Rob Vanwynsberghe with one goal and three helpers.
A total of five players hit the score sheet three times led by Ian McCullough (2G 1A), Rob DeSutter (1G 2A), Adam Vandepoele (1G 2A), Kyle Simpson (1G 2A), and Caleb Bosma with three assists. Rounding out the scoring was John Ralf, Nathan Gavey, and Brendan O’Brien.
Brandon Rohrer picked up his eleventh win on 23 starts stopping 30 of 31 shots he faced.
AYLMER 7 SIMCOE 6
The offence continued to roll along in the final game of the year against the first place Simcoe Storm. The Spitfires took a 6-1 lead into the third period only to have the lead disappear as the Storm surged back and scored five times to send the game into overtime.
John Ralf got things started with his ninth goal of the year. Luke Murray scored his second goal of the campaign to give Aylmer a 2-0 lead. The two teams exchanged power play goals in the last five minutes make the score 3-1 for Aylmer after one period of play. Scott Borrows, his eighth goal of the season, scored the Spits power play goal.
Aylmer extended its’ lead to 6-1 in the second period on the strength of two goals by Adam Vandepoele, his seventh and eighth goal, and a short-handed marker by Adam Scott, his fourteenth goal of the year.
Three power play goals for the Simcoe Storm got them back into the game with the tying goal being scored with just 27 seconds to play in the game.
Both goalies were tested in the overtime period with Brandon Rohrer stopping the seven shots he faced in the extra period. Aylmer fired six shots on goal in the fourth period for a total of 41 in the game to Simcoe’s 53.
But with only thirteen ticks on the clock, defenseman Caleb Bosma scored his third goal of the year to give Aylmer the 7-6 win. Rob Vanwynsberghe and Adam Scott picked up assists on the winning goal. It was the second overtime win in Simcoe for the Spitfires and the win evened the season record with the Storm with three wins each.
The Spitfires now prepare for the post-season as they will face the Norwich Merchants. Game one will be played in Norwich on Friday February 17 at 8:00 pm and the two teams will return to Aylmer for a 7:00 pm start on Saturday night.

February 5, 2006
Spitfires Upended By Storm

The Aylmer Spitfires have two games left in the regular season and need to win both to surpass last years’ team record of 19 wins in a season. The Spitfires had a chance to tie the record against the Simcoe Storm on Saturday night but lost the game 6-3.
The loss was their first loss in five games and only their third in their last ten games played. They will end up in third place and face off against the Norwich Merchants in the first round of the play offs.
The trend of Junior C hockey continued as special teams comes to the forefront in the game. Of the nine goals scored in this game, two were short-handed markers, three on the power play, one empty net goal, and two at even strength.
In Saturday’s contest, the Spitfires dominated the first period out shooting the Storm 16 – 9. The score after the first however was even at one. The Storm took over in the second period as they out shot Aylmer 18 – 9 and scored three times to the Spitfires two markers.
Simcoe scored first while short-handed after a Spitfire give-away at their blue line. The Storm forward stole the puck and deked Spitfire goalie Brandon Rohrer for a 1-0 lead. On that same power play opportunity, Aylmer tied the game with Caleb Bosma rifling a shot by the Simcoe goalie. Kyle Simpson and Rob Vanwynsberghe earned assists on the goal.
In the second period, Jeff Gardner notched his 33rd goal of the year on a two-man power play. A nice passing play from Rob Vanwynsberghe and Adam Vandepoele set up Jeff, who then had an empty net to shoot in. Simcoe rallied three minutes later on another power play to tie the game at two.
The goals came fast and furious late in the second frame as three goals were scored 51 seconds apart. Spitfire defender Ryan Fletcher regained the one goal lead by scoring his eighth goal of the year. He followed his pass to Adam Scott who tried to go around the Simcoe defenseman. The puck was knocked off of Scott’s stick where Fletcher took a quick shot that seemed to surprise the Simcoe netminder.
After the ensuing face off at centre ice Simcoe tied the game at three with only five seconds elapsing after Fletcher’s goal. Simcoe took the lead for good scoring their fourth goal of the game just forty seconds later.
Simcoe scored two more times in the third including an empty net goal to seal their 6-3 victory.
The Spitfires close out their regular season this weekend with two away games. They travel to Paris on Saturday for a 6:00 pm start then will visit Simcoe on Sunday February 12 for a 7:00 pm start.
The first round of the play offs will start the following week. The date and times of the games will be available in next weeks’ Express.

February 1, 2006
Spitfires Win Streak at Four

The Aylmer Spitfires Junior C hockey club continues their hot play of late by winning for the eighth time in ten games. The Spits chalked up two more victories over the weekend to guarantee them a winning record for the year.
The Spits have now won four in a row and are just one win away from tying their highest win total in their three-year existence. They currently sit in third place with a record of 18-13-2 for 38 points. They have three games remaining in this season’s schedule.
On Friday January 27th the Spitfires traveled to Woodstock and won 5-3. The win was their sixth win on the road for the month of January. The team had only won once on the road prior to this, improving their road record to 7-6-1.
Leading the way against the Navy Vets was Caleb Bosma. Caleb earned his first goal of the year and also added two assists for a three-point night. He now has 14 points on the year. Caleb also set up the game-winning overtime goal last Sunday against the Simcoe Storm.
The Spitfires had four other players with multi-point games in this contest. Jeff Gardner scored twice giving him 31 on the year, Rob Vanwynsberghe had two assists, Chad Howey and John Ralf each had a goal and an assist.
It is this kind of offensive production that the Spitfires will need to do in the upcoming play offs. The opposing team will find it difficult to check the Spitfires with the scoring spread out over several line combinations.
Brandon Rohrer picked up his tenth win on the year stopping 28 of 31 shots. His record is now at 10 wins with 8 losses and one tie. He sits in fifth place for the best goals against average of 3.49.
On Saturday night, Aylmer returned home to the friendly confines of the East Elgin Community Complex to host the New Hamburg Firebirds.
Even though New Hamburg is in last place in the West division with only seventeen points, they still hold an outside chance at earning a play off position. They were coming off an impressive win over the Paris Mounties and believed with another strong game against the Spitfires, they could inch a little closer to that elusive fourth place position.
After a scoreless first period, Aylmer quickly put the game out of reach by scoring five goals. It was a lead that they would not relinquish and eventually win by a score of 5-2.
Defenseman Ryan Fletcher continues to contribute offensively by netting his seventh goal of the year. Rob Vanwynsberghe added his twenty-second goal on the season to spot Aylmer 2-0 after two periods of play.
Nathan Gavey with his sixth, Jeff Gardner with his league leading 32nd goal, and Ian McCullough also notching his sixth goal, stretched the lead to 5-0 with goals. Adam Scott chipped in with three helpers in the game.
New Hamburg was able to get two by Deren Lyle in the Aylmer net. Deren improved his record to 7-6-1 and lowered his goals against average to 3.79.
As mentioned, Aylmer has three games remaining in the 2005-06 season. They will play their last regular season game this Saturday February 4th against the Simcoe Storm. Game time will be at 7:00 pm.
They finish the season on the road the following weekend on February 11 in Paris then on February 12 in Simcoe.

January 20, 2006
Spitfires Clinch Play Off Spot

The Niagara Junior C Aylmer Spitfires won both games this past weekend clinching themselves a play off spot.
The 3-2 win on home ice Saturday night against the Woodstock Navy Vets secured the Spits a third straight post season appearance. The win gave them 32 points on the year, which is 13 points ahead of fifth place Paris. Paris has five games left so they can no longer catch Aylmer in the standings.
Aylmer all but secured a third place finish with a 4-3 come from behind overtime win over the first place Simcoe Storm on Sunday night.
Aylmer now sits in third place with 34 points with 16 wins, 13 losses, and two ties. Woodstock is 12 points behind with six games to play. All Aylmer need is a single point in one of their last five games or Woodstock lose a point in any of their remaining six games.
With that being said, the play off opponent for the Spits has not yet been decided. They know they will face the second place team, which currently means the Norwich Merchants. The Merchants only sit four points behind Simcoe for first position with both teams having five games left.
Aylmer has split the season series with the Norwich Merchants going 3-3. The Spitfires have two games remaining to play against the Storm. In the four games played so far, both teams have won twice.
KIDS NIGHT
On Saturday night, the Spitfires had a Kids Night and the kids came out in droves. The attendance for this game was the largest of the year with 654 people cheering on the local Spitfire team to a 3-2 victory.
This game that was decided by specialty teams with all five goals being scored either on the power play or while short-handed.
Aylmer’s Scott Borrows scored his seventh goal of the year with his team enjoying a two-man advantage. A cross-rink pass from Adam Scott had Borrows looking at a wide-open net. Eric Hamilton also picked up an assist on the play.
After Woodstock scored on the power play in the second period to tie the game, Aylmer reclaimed the lead on a short-handed effort by Jeff Gardner.
Defenseman Caleb Bosma started the play from his own blue line, feeding a pass to Adam Scott. Scott found Gardner heading to the net on the left wing and after receiving a pass from Scott, he went in alone and wrested a shot to the far corner. The goal was Gardner’s 29th of the year.
Another power play goal by Woodstock evened the game at two until the Spitfires power play got another chance with seven minutes to go in the game. Ryan Fletcher scored his sixth goal of the campaign on a hard slap shot from twenty feet in front of the goalie to give Aylmer a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish.
Brandon Rohrer picked up the win for the Spits stopping 20 of 22 shots.
Aylmer 4 Simcoe 3
On Sunday night, Aylmer traveled to Simcoe to face the Storm. A come from behind 4-3 overtime victory gave Simcoe only their sixth loss of the year.
Should the Spitfires play the Storm in the play offs, they will need to stay out of the penalty box as all three goals for the Storm were on their power play. Aylmer trailed 3-1 after two periods with Spitfire Centre Adam Vandepoele scoring in the first period with assists going to Jeff Gardner and Caleb Bosma.
The comeback started in the third period with Ian McCullough notching his fifth goal of the year on a pass from Jeff Gardner. Ryan Fletcher scored his second goal of the weekend with fewer than three minutes to go in the game.
Aylmer continued to ride the momentum of the late goal by Fletcher into the overtime peppering Simcoe with five shots in the first 1:18. The fifth shot was by Rob Vanwynsberghe as he beat the Simcoe goalie, giving the Spits the 4-3 win.
Brandon Rohrer was solid in net again stopping 42 of 45 shots.
Aylmer will next play in Woodstock Friday January 27th at 7:45 pm then return home the following night to host the New Hamburg Firebirds at 7:00 pm.

January, 2006
The Aylmer Spitfire’s Hockey Heaven Draw winners, Annette and Glen DeBradandere, enjoyed their prize Friday night as the London Knights defeated the St.Mike’s Majors with former Spitfire Jeff Barletta, 7-3. They are pictured above in the De Dell Seeds Private Suite with the Top 3 ticket sellers from the Aylmer Spitfires. (from left to right): Caleb Bosma, Glen DeBrabandere, Brendan O’Brien, Annette DeBrabandere and Matt Hughson.

January, 2006
Spitfires Win One of Three

The Aylmer Spitfires had a very busy weekend playing three games in three nights winning one and losing two.
On Thursday January 12th, the Spits played Woodstock in a re-scheduled contest from a December 2 game that was postponed due to bad weather. Aylmer lost this game 6-4.
The Woodstock Navy Vets are fighting for their play off lives as they currently sit one point behind the fourth place Paris Mounties. With that in mind, the Navy Vets came out firing as they quickly jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead.
Aylmer mounted a comeback in the second frame with Chad Howey, Adam Vandepoele, and Rob Vanwynsberghe each scoring once to cut into Woodstock’s lead. The Vets also scored once in the period to make the score 5-3 after two.
Jeff Gardner continued his scoring streak for the Spits with his 27th goal of the campaign to make the score 5-4. Woodstock would not be denied on this night as they secured the win with an empty net goal. Deren Lyle was in net for the Spitfires, stopping 21 of 26 shots he faced.
Jeff is second in goals scored for the division trailing only Simcoe forward’s Mac Cook and Ryan Gaertner by one goal.
The next evening Aylmer boarded the bus again to travel to New Hamburg to face off against the last place Firebirds. Aylmer skated away with an 8-1 victory.
Aylmer got on the scoreboard first with call up Brian MacPherson notching his first goal on the power play. Brian plays for the Belmont Bombers of the Junior Development league.
New Hamburg were able to tie the game early in the second period only to have Aylmer score four unanswered goals to make the score 5-1 after two. Kyle Morrison led the way with two goals with veterans Adam Scott and Rob Vanwynsberghe adding one each.
The scoring binge continued in the third period with Ian McCullough, Eric Hamilton, and Vance Stark completing the scoring for the Spitfires. Nathan Gavey and Caleb Bosma chipped in with two assists apiece.
Brandon Rohrer earned the victory in goal for the Spitfires stopping 25 of 26 shots.
The Spitfires returned to home ice on Saturday night to host the Norwich Merchants. The Merchants evened the season series with the Spitfires at three games each with a 5-2 win.
Norwich took advantage of the weary legs of the Spitfires jumping to a 2-0 lead after the opening period and stretching the lead to 4-0 after two periods of play. Norwich had no pity on the Spitfires as they fired a total of 31 shots on Aylmer goalie Brandon Rohrer after two periods.
Ian McCullough broke the shut out bid for the Norwich net minder four minutes into the third. Jeff Gardner also scored to make the final 5-2 for Norwich.
The Spitfires remain in third place in the West Division with a record of 14 wins, 13 losses, tying two for 30 points. They have a nine-point cushion over the fourth place Paris Mounties. Both team have seven games remaining in the schedule.
Aylmer will take a well-deserved break and not see action again until next Saturday night when they host the Woodstock Navy Vets. Game time will be 7:00 pm.

January, 2006
Spitfires Shine at All Star Game

Pictured above are the three members of the Aylmer Spitfires that played on the Niagara Jr. C West All Star team. From left, Rob DeSutter, Nathan Gavey and Rob Vanwynsberghe.

The 17th Annual Niagara Junior C All Star game was held in Aylmer and two of the local Spitfires rose to the occasion scoring two of the three goals for their respective team.
The game was played before 400 spectators at the East Elgin Community Complex and hosted by the Aylmer Spitfires. The two divisions in the Niagara Junior C loop divided the teams into East and West. The six teams in each division sent three or four players to fill the squad.
Aylmer’s representatives on the West team were Nathan Gavey at centre, Rob Vanwynsberghe at left wing, and Rob DeSutter at defense.
In the first period, the goaltenders were front and centre making several big saves. Simcoe Storm’s Jeff Bassindale for the West and Grismby Peach King’s Ryan Penner for the East team showed why their respective teams are comfortably in first place if they provide them the excellent goaltending they displayed in the All Star game.
Rob Vanwynsberghe opened the scoring midway through the second period on a breakaway. Rob received a pass from Paris Mounties’ Matt Moffatt and went in alone and threaded a low shot between the pads of Dunnville Terriers goalie Michael Tardif.
Not to be outdone, Spitfire Nathan Gavey scored the West teams’ second goal. A poor clearing attempt by Tardif had Norwich’s Chad Barclay intercept the puck and feed Rob Vanwynsberghe across the ice. Rob could have taken a shot but saw Nathan going hard to the net from the corner.
A soft saucer pass across the face of the crease found Nathan’s stick and he quickly redirected the puck into the net for a 2-0 lead.
Paris’ rookie sensation Mike Young pushed the lead to 3-0 in the third period burying a pass from behind the net from teammate Matt Moffatt.
The East team did not throw in the towel as they mounted a comeback against the West and new netminder Greg Needham from the New Hamburg Firebirds.
Grimsby’s Joel Agnew and Joel Bristo scored minutes apart that cut the lead to 3-2 for the West.
The East team pulled the goalie for the extra attacker and capitalized with Kyle Prytula of the Caledonia Corvairs tying the game with less than a minute to go and sending the game into overtime.
The comeback was completed on Joel Bristo’s second goal of the game just over a minute into the overtime, earning the East team an exciting 4-3 victory.
Rob Vanwynsberghe received the West squad’s Player of the Game with a goal and an assist. Kyle Prytula earned the East Player of the Game scoring once and adding two assists.

January, 2006

Rob Vanwynsberghe of the Aylmer Spitfires is presented with the West MVP award by West Convenor Jeff Morrison at the 17th annual Niagara Jr. "C" East-West All Star game that was held Saturday night in Aylmer. Rob scored 1 goal and added an assist on a goal scored by fellow Spitfire Nathan Gavey. The win went to the East Division as they pulled out the come from behind victory in overtime 4-3.

January 2, 2006
Spitfires Hosting All Star Game
The Aylmer Spitfires will host the Annual Niagara Junior C All Star game on Saturday January 7th at 7:00 pm.
Being awarded the All Star game gives regard to the Aylmer Spitfire organization for the excellent work in their first three years in the league. The team executive has iced a very competitive team in all the three years having the three teams make the play offs and provide some very exciting series.
The Spitfire organization has also been able to produce young hockey talent and have been able to graduate the players to a higher level of hockey. Aylmer had four sixteen year olds move on to higher ranks after last season.
Another reason Aylmer was awarded the All Star game is to showcase the new East Elgin Community Complex. Caledonia hosted the game last season with their new twin pad arena and now it is Aylmer’s turn to show off its’ new facility.
The game will match up players from the East division, including the defending Champions Grimsby Peach Kings, against the West division that includes the Aylmer Spitfires.
TWO AYLMER-ITES in GAME
The contest will have three to four players from each team in both divisions face off against each other. The Aylmer Spitfires representatives this year include two Aylmer products, Nathan Gavey and Rob DeSutter. Nilestown’s Rob Vanwynsberghe is the third Spitfire to be selected to the game.
Nathan Gavey is in his third season as a Spitfire. He is a hard working centre that has notched four goals and added fourteen assists this year.
Nathan is more known for his tenacious checking and shutting down the opposing team’s top line. A key face off situation will also find Nathan at centre ice trying to win control of the puck.
Rob DeSutter, also an Aylmer product, will be playing defense in this years’ All Star game. This is also Rob’s third year with the Spitfires.
Rob has had a solid year at defense for the Spitfires after playing most of last season at centre. He has not lost his offensive abilities from the blue line scoring six times and chipping in thirteen assists.
Rob is second in points for league defensemen with 19 in 20 games played.
The third Spitfire player in the game will be Rob Vanwynsberghe from Nilestown. Rob is tied in team goals with seventeen, eight of which have come on the power play.
The high scoring left-winger has been a regular offensive contributor for the Spits in his three campaigns with the team. He currently sits in 11th place among the scoring leaders.
The All Star game location is moved around every year among the twelve teams in the Niagara Junior C loop. Aylmer is thrilled to be hosting it as they know they may not host it again for eleven years.
This is a great opportunity for local hockey fans to see some young players showcase their skills in what will likely be a fast paced high scoring affair. Again, game time is at 7:00 pm.

Click here for News Archives

March 2007 - Aylmer Spitfires, (from left) Adam Vandepoele and Rob De Sutter, autograph pictures for the grade 3-4 students at Assumption School after each of them read a book to the class for Celebrity Readers Day recently. The Day was part of the Go Banana’s for reading program at the school.

March 2007 - Aylmer Spitfire, Rob De Sutter, reads to the grade 3-4 class at Assumption School for Celebrity Readers Day recently. The Day was part of the Go Banana’s for reading program at the school.

March 4, 2007
Aylmer Spitfire, Scott Burrows, scores the second Spitfires goal in Game 6 vs Norwich. Unfortunately Aylmer fell short in the game losing 5-4 in double overtime and in the series 4 games to 2. Spitfires, Scott Burrows and Matt Baker, were both playing in their final Junior hockey game and we would like to Thank them for their fine play this season and wish them the best in their future endeavors.

March 4, 2007
Aylmer Spitfire, Rob Vanwynsberghe, gets hauled down as he streaks to the net looking for a goal in Game 6 of the play-off series vs Norwich. Norwich came out on top 5-4 in double overtime and won the series 4-2.

March 4, 2007
Aylmer Spitfire, Curtis Maracle, takes a pass from behind the net and tries to put it past the Norwich goalie in Game 6 vs Nowich. Aylmer came close but fell short 5-4 in double overtime. Norwich wins the series 4-2.

February 19, 2007
Aylmer Spitfire, #12 Curtis Maracle, streaks to the net looking to score in Game 1 of the Niagara Jr. C West Division Semi-Final play-off series versus Norwich. The series is tied at 1 game apiece.

January 6, 2007

Aylmer Spitfire defenceman, Ryan Fletcher(pictured above), along with teammates, forwards, Nathan Gavey, Rob Vanwynsberghe and goalie Brandon Rohrer were recently named to the Niagara Jr C West Division All Star team which played in the annual East-West All star game Saturday in Dunnville. The East came away with a 2-1 victory. The Aylmer Spitfires next see action at home for Family Night this Saturday, Jan. 13th at 7:30 pm. vs. Grimsby. As part of Family night all kids 14 and under accompanied by an adult receive Free admission and a chance to win a 4GB Ipod Nano along with several other kid’s door prizes.

December 25, 2006

OHA Niagara League Convenor, Ron Parks(at left), presents the Niagara West Jr C Division Player of the Month award for Novemeber to Aylmer Spitfire Captain, Nathan Gavey, at a game recently in Aylmer.

AYLMER SPITFIRES DIRECTOR AND WINNING TICKET SELLER, STEVE HIBBERT(at left), PRESENTS THE 4TH ANNUAL AYLMER SPITFIRES HOCKEY HEAVEN DRAW GRAND PRIZE OF 4 TORONTO MAPLE LEAF TICKETS AND $500 TO WINNER, DARREN CAMPBELL OF LAKESIDE. THE SECOND PRIZE OF 10 TICKETS TO A PRIVATE SUITE FOR A LONDON KNIGHTS GAME PLUS A LIMO RIDE TO AND FROM THE GAME, WAS WON BY PETER CHICKA OF PORT STANLEY.

The Aylmer Spitfires are pictured with the Aylmer Minor Hockey Initiation Program Timbits during the first intermission of a game recently. The Timbits played a game during the intermission in Honor of the Spitfires Minor Hockey Day.

Spitfires Minor Hockey Day 2006
Aylmer Spitfire, Rob DeSutter, is giving the thumbs up as he poses for a photo with his cousin Brody VanRoestel. Brody took part in a game with the Aylmer Minor Hockey Initiation Progam during the first intermission of a recent Aylmer Spitfires game.

Aylmer Spitfire Rookie goalie Tyler Bennett made his debut against Simcoe Thanksgiving Sunday, in relief, pulling out the victory with 14 saves on 15 shots. He made his first start against Woodstock Saturday night battling for the 4-4 tie making 38 saves on 42 shots.

October 14, 2006
Jeff Gardner takes the shot that leads to the Aylmer Jr. C Spitfires 4th goal of the game scored by #16 Scott Burrows which gave Aylmer a 1 goal lead late in the game vs. the Woodstock Navy Vets. The Spits couldn’t hold on and Woodstock tied the game in the last minute. After Overtime nothing was decided and the game ended 4-4.

Curtis Maracle streaks towards the net during the Aylmer Jr. “C” Spitfires Regular Season Home Opener on Saturday night. The Spitfires went on to victory over Simcoe, 7-5, improving their record to 2-0. Curtis finished the game with 2 goals and an assist.

Rob Vanwynsberghe scores his third goal in the Aylmer Jr. “C” Spitfires Regular Season Home Opener Saturday night. The Spitfires went on to victory, 7-5, over Simcoe to improve their record to 2-0. Rob finished the game with 3 goals and 1 assist.

The Aylmer Jr C Spitfires played in their home opener on Saturday night. Pictured above from left to right are Spitfire alumni Mike Chipchase, Jason Geerts, team president, Brian Cosyns, Vance Stark and Matt Lynch who all took part in the ceremonial puck drop with the team captains from Aylmer, Nathan Gavey and Simcoe during the pre-game festivities. Aylmer went on to win the game 7-5.

AYLMER SPITFIRE, NATHAN GAVEY #22, GETS SET TO TAKE A FACE OFF IN THE SECOND PERIOD AGAINST SIMCOE, IN THE FIRST OF TWO HOME EXHIBITION GAMES IN 2006-2007 PRESEASON. THE SPITFIRES NEXT SEE ACTION IN AYLMER ON SATURDAY SEPT. 23 VS NORWICH, AT 7:30 PM…C’YA THERE!

Come Fly with us, become a member or a SPONSOR. For more info. email Darren@aylmerspitfires.com

site design by electric arts and warnock studios