The Fergus Devils lost two of three games last weekend but managed to hold on to fifth place in the league standings thanks in part to their lone victory of the weekend.
Alliston hammered the Devils 9-3 in Alliston last Friday night, but Fergus went to Midland a night later and beat the Flyers 5-1 to remain ahead of them in the chase for fifth. On Sunday, the Penetang Kings handed Fergus a 7-1 loss in Fergus.
At Alliston, the Hornets jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and never looked back. The Hornets scored in the first two minutes of play and then added two quick goals in a span of two minutes to build a three-goal lead in the latter half of the frame. Fergus broke up the shutout with two goals in the second period, but they simply didn't have the offence to catch the league-leading Hornets in the end.
Jesse Booker, Matt Adams and Rob Turner had goals for Fergus, while Turner tacked on a pair of assists.
In Midland, the Devils held a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes and extended it to 3-1 after two periods. Jessy Kuenzig and Dylan Cunningham scored to make it 2-0 for Fergus in the first, while Josh Asselin trimmed the lead to one when he scored 30 seconds after Cunningham.
Sean Little's second-period goal gave Fergus a two-goal lead again, while markers from Turner and Daniel Verta in the third iced the win. Dave Bartolomucci stopped 43 shots to earn the win in net for the Devils
Neither Bartolomucci or Brendan Moore were effective Sunday night, as the Kings rolled into town and rolled over Fergus once again. The visitors scored five times in the first peirod and then crusied to the win.
Matt Adams had the lone Fergus goal, which tied the game early in the first period before the Kings pulled away. Bartolomucci got the start in net but was pulled after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Moore made 31 saves on 34 shots in relief.
Following the loss to the Kings, Fergus captain Ethan Jobb couldn't explain why the team hasn't been able to change its fortunes against the league's best teams.
"It seems like we're having to fight through every game and we just can't get it together," he said. "We got blown out twice this weekend and in neither game did we play a full 60 minutes of hockey."
Jobb is convinced that the Devils have enough skill to be a better team, but can't figure out why they're not using it more effectively.
"It seems like we're always fighting from behind," he said. "We proved we can play with Alliston earlier in the season, but guys just fall asleep or they don't come ready to play now. We have to find a way to come to the rink ready to play for every game."
Fergus will be in action twice this coming weekend, starting with a Friday night tilt in Penetang against the Kings (face-off at 8 p.m.). They follow that up with a Sunday, Jan. 24 home game opposite Alliston. Game time against the Hornets is slated for 7:30 p.m.