Eagles, Fury rivalry could be a good one
How is this for exciting: Wednesday, Oct. 22, the Bowmanville Eagles will visit the Whitby Fury in a Tier II Jr. A hockey game at Iroquois Park beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Depending on your knowledge of the league, there is some validity to that statement, as two of the closest teams in terms of geography are finally in the same division, and will go head-to-head four times this season. As well, if you have some knowledge of the league, there might be a hint of sarcasm in the statement as well.
The positive is that the two junior clubs should be able to build a decent rivalry, with the Eagles having a number of players who have graduated through the Whitby minor system on their roster. The Eagles have always had a strong following, and if the Fury can match that in their first season playing out of Whitby, it should translate into a decent atmosphere in the building when the two teams collide.
On the downside, the matchup won't exactly feature two of the premiere teams in the loop.
Last season, only three teams of the 35 in the league scored fewer than the 135 put up by the Eagles in 49 games. The prospects for topping that mark don't look encouraging this season.
The top scorer from last season, Josh Shalla (26-11-37), has made the move up to Brampton of the OHL this season. Brandon Couto, whose 34 points were second, is back, but then, in order, Tom Budziakowski has graduated, Dustin Ekelman is expected to stick with Mississauga St. Michaels Majors, and Andrew Fracz has also graduated.
The math? Four of the top five scorers from a year ago won't be back.
Perhaps the realignment will serve as an injection to the offence, considering that Whitby, who were previously Durham and before that Oshawa, as well as Pickering and Ajax were the weak sisters in the South Division last season.
The once historic Legionaires became the Durham Fury a couple of seasons ago, but it didn't translate into success on the ice. In the last year as the Legionaires, the team posted just nine victories. When a new ownership group came in to save the franchise and changed the name to Durham Fury, the past two seasons have produced win totals of 13 and 16.
The Fury could score last season, potting 171, but they fished the puck out of the back of their net 267 times, only four teams in the league allowing more.
As for Pickering and Ajax, they didn't bring much to the table last season. Ajax finished one behind the Fury with 12 wins, while Pickering could muster just 10.
Both the Eagles and Fury will have a number of new faces in the lineup when the season opens this week. The anticipation and expectations will certainly be high, but as for the excitement level, that is yet to be determined.
Brad Kelly's column runs every third week. Email bkelly@durhamregion.com