Photo by Jack Gower
Article by Dylan Baker
The Komoka Kings opened the 2024-2025 season this past weekend, taking on the Stratford Warriors at home on Saturday and travelling to Chatham on Sunday to take on the Maroons.
Saturday’s party began around 5:30pm for the home opener, as the Komoka-Kilworth Optimists brought out the BBQ and the DJ for pregame music and festivities. After player introductions, Mayor of Middlesex Centre Aina DeViet dropped the ceremonial first puck to open the season, as is tradition.
On the ice, the Kings fell behind early when Quinn Kipfer scored on the power play at the 9:11 mark to give Stratford the lead. Then, with two seconds left in the first, Drew Hodge made it 2-0. In the second, the Kings answered back as Justin Skirten found Gavin McGahey-Smith with a beautiful pass to make it a one goal game. Stratford struck back though, as Cole Lewis scored nine minutes later to make it 3-1, then two minutes later the Warriors added another to make it 4-1. That would end up as the final score. Ryan Burroughs made 41 saves in goal for Komoka.
It was a quick turnaround for the Kings, as they were back in action on Sunday at the Memorial Arena in Chatham, to take on the Maroons, for Chatham’s home opener. Chatham got on the board first, with an all out attack in the first period, thanks to a goal by Cameron Graham. The Maroons got 18 shots in that first frame, but Nate Gillis made several big stops to keep the deficit at one. In the second, Alex Akena scored his first in a Kings uniform to tie things up, on a loose puck in the crease area. Chatham answered right back not long after that chance, as a puck deflected off a defender in front, beating Gillis to make it 2-1.
In the third though, it was all Komoka. Just two minutes in, Nash Coffin got a pass from Seth Huygen, and beat Chatham’s goaltender from a sharp angle to tie things up on Coffin’s first in the GOJHL. With six and a half minutes left in the third, Senan Moore and Dylan Lale were both stopped on shots, but Ben Siroen cleaned up the rebound, his first in the league, to give the Kings their first lead of the year. Then, with Chatham’s net empty and just under two minutes left, Everett Force found the empty cage for his first in the GOJHL, giving Komoka a 4-2 lead. They’d extend that lead just 29 seconds later, as Alex Akena took a Seth Huygen rebound and backhanded it home for his second of the game, giving the Kings a 5-2 victory after a four-goal third.
All in all on Sunday, three players (Coffin, Siroen, Force) scored their first GOJHL goals, and Nate Gillis was stellar in net, making 41 saves on 43 shots.
(Left to right: Ben Siroen, Everett Force, and Nash Coffin with their first goal pucks)
The Kings would like to thank the Komoka-Kilworth Optimist Club, the Municipality of Middlesex Centre, as well as all of the organization’s volunteers and staff for their assistance in the home opener this season. The team is back in action on Friday night, when they travel to Stratford, before returning home on Saturday to host the Elmira Sugar Kings, with puck drop at 7:15pm.
