Skyhawks feel the Aurora Tigers bite

Aurora Tigers forward Domenic Monardo (far left) scores his second goal of the game in the 3rd period as he beats sprawling Skyhawks goaltender Jeff Michael. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Domenic Monardo scored twice to lead the OPJHL's Aurora Tigers to a convincing 5-1 victory over the North Bay Skyhawks in their final pre-season match of the summer.

The Tigers dominated on the score sheet and on the shot clock as they outshot the Skyhawks 40-15.

Justin Villeneuve recorded the lone goal for the Skyhawks.

The loss drops the Skyhawks to 0-3 in the pre-season – two losses at the hands of the defending CJHL champion Pembroke Lumber Kings and a loss Friday against the Aurora Tigers, who captured the Royal Bank Cup title back in 2007.

“We play them for a reason,” stated head coach Ian Swalucynski.

“We play them for a challenge and we play them to see what we have to work on and we want to be at that level. There are 142 teams that want to be at the last dance at the end of the year and there’s a good chance those two teams will be there so we have to know what it takes. We found out what it takes three games in a row.”

The Skyhawks will start with a clean slate on Sunday as they host the Temiscaming Royals – a team that is yet to play a pre-season game.

Swalucynski is expecting more from his team once the real season begins Sunday.

“We need some more scoring we need guys to start moving their feet and I told the guys there after the game you better make sure you come to the game with your hard helmet on ready to work or else you aren’t going to be here much longer because we don’t need guys who are here to just punch in time. I want guys who know what it takes and guys that know how to work,” he said.

New Faces

The Skyhawks had a peak at former Trappers MVP Joel Senecal on Friday night. He was recently released by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan after being traded to the New Brunswick based QMJHL club this summer by the Val’Dor Foreurs.

Swalucynski hopes the Sturgeon Falls product elects to play closer to home.

“We want him, we’d like him to stick around but obviously he probably wants to see what other options he has in Major Junior and hopefully he wants to put on a jersey with us the rest of the year,” he said.

Ryan Loach also made his return to North Bay. The son of former NHLer and New Liskeard native Lonnie Loach played with the Skyhawks for a short time two seasons ago and made his ’08 debut with an assist on the Skyhawks lone goal on the power play.

The dual citizen who spent most of his minor hockey days in St. Louis went through 15 different high schools before he graduated.

Loach hopes to fill the scoring void left with the apparent departure of Dustin Fummerton.

“This is my last year of junior so I just want to go out there and I love scoring goals and I’ll try to get as many goals and assists as I can and I’d like to get a scholarship somewhere and something like that would be great,” said Loach, who played with Lindenwood College (St. Charles, Missouri) of the American Collegiate Hockey Association last year.