The Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) regular season opens this weekend for the Mooretown Flags and Petrolia Flyers.
The Flyers travel to Dresden Friday night as they begin their second season in Petrolia, after the team moved from Alvinston.
General Manager Dennis Meston says they have a good core of returning players, including Curtis Helps and Kole Keating. He says the team has chosen Keating as their captain this year.
"He's the heart and soul of the team, he does a lot for us and he's our leader out there," says Meston.
Flyers captain Kole Keating (photo by Courtney Holbrook Photography)
Petrolia added experience with some off season acquisitions, picking up Nick Burgess and Matt Hunt from the Mooretown Flags. They also got a big boost to the back end with Eric Marsh returning after two seasons on the Sarnia Legionnaires blue line. Marsh played for the Flyers during their final season in Alvinston as a 16-year-old.
"We weren't expecting him back this year but that was a good phone call to get. He has a lot of junior experience and will really helps us out back there," says Meston.
Meston says Riley Collins will return in net, and they've added Sarnia Sting prospect Jakob Knowles to the mix, giving them a very good one-two punch between the pipes.
He says the move to Petrolia is paying off.
"I honestly think that most people are realizing that the move was the right thing to do, we're getting some more players that we likely wouldn't have got in the past," says Meston. "We have 15 guys back from last year, considering last year we had a dozen who have never played junior before."
Meston says they've added several local kids as well from last year's Petrolia Midget team, and will continue to work with the Petrolia Minor Hockey Association.
(Photo courtesy of Jocelyn McLaughlin)
The Mooretown Flags open their season Saturday night at home against Wallaceburg.
Jordan Pennesi is back behind the bench, the former Flag player and coach was at the helm of the Lambton Junior Sting Minor Midgets the last few seasons. He says it feels good to be back with his former team.
"I've always had a soft spot for Mooretown, playing four years there were probably the best four years of my life, and then getting the opportunity to coach when my playing career came to an end was a great opportunity and I haven't looked back since," says Pennesi.
Joining Pennesi behind the Flags' bench is Jeff Paulley and Dara Emslie.
Former Legionnaires Cameron Rannie is back with the Flags, he was Mooretown's Rookie of the Year during the 2015-16 season. Mooretown will have a pair of experienced goalies as Nolan Hakr returns for his third season and Jake Wilkins enters hiss sophomore campaign with the Flags.
--
