Canton's perfect start spoiled
by last-minute Farmington goal

  The goose egg under the Canton hockey team’s loss column finally shattered Wednesday night, but it took a last-minute, out-of-the-blue slap shot to do it.

  Farmington’s Pete Kusek ripped home a short-range wrister with 45.1 seconds left lifting the Flyers over the Chiefs, 3-2, in a non-conference encounter played at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena.

   The setback was the Chiefs’ first following five impressive victories. The Flyers improved to 4-3.

   Although disappointing, the loss could be a blessing in disguise, according to Canton head coach Jeremy Majszak.

  “I’m disappointed and I know the guys are disappointed, but it’s very difficult in this state to go the whole season without losing a game,” said Majszak. “The thing with winning like we have is that it can mask problems. Everybody is excited, everybody is happy, but it can make you overlook small things you’re not doing right.

  “When you lose like we did tonight, it hits home hard and makes you realize that you’re not perfect and that there are things that need to be worked on.”

   The night started like it ended for Canton – rough.

  Farmington built a 2-0 lead in the game’s first 20 minutes thanks to goals from Thaddeus Zak (nine minutes in) and Mike Tobar, who lit the lamp with a poor-angle shot 1:24 into the second period.

  Tobar’s goal seemed to serve as a wake-up call for the Chiefs, who ramped up their aggressiveness.

  The increased intensity paid dividends with 10:15 left in the second period when AJ Rosales deked the Flyers’ goalie and flipped the puck top shelf to cut his team’s deficit to 2-1. Senior captain Jimmy LaFontaine picked up an assist.

   The Chiefs appeared to deadlock the game at 2-2 with 1:26 left in the second stanza, but Matti Prasdorf’s goal was disallowed when the referee ruled that he advanced the puck with his glove.

  Unfazed, the Chiefs drew even with 11:34 to play when Jimmy LaFontaine scored from Zack McArdle and Taylor Baker.

  Canton carried the play for the majority of the game’s final 10 minutes, but Kusek popped the Chiefs’ perfection balloon when he secured a Canton clearing attempt and popped it in the mesh.

  “It was a heart-breaker at the end, but we’ve been on the positive end of about three close games, so you’re bound to drop one of them sooner or later,” said Majszak. “We got beat by a good team, but we’re still 5-1 going into our big game (against Plymouth) Friday night.”

  Spencer Craig stopped 17 shots for the Chiefs, who outshot Farmington, 29-20.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.

AJ Rosales scored Canton's first goal on this second-period rush. (Ed Wright photo)

Duggan Tear advances the puck during the third period. (Ed Wright photo)

Parker Pakula battles a Farmington player for possession of the puck. (Ed Wright photo)

Josh Dickson has a step on a Farmington defender. (Ed Wright photo)

Jimmy LaFontaine scored Canton's second goal. (Ed Wright photo)