(TORONTO, ON) May 19, 2022 — The Toronto Beaches were able to get their first victory of the 2022 campaign on Thursday night, beating the Burlington Chiefs 10-9 at Ted Reeve Arena.
Coming off a tough overtime defeat in their opener, the Beaches got some extra bodies back into the lineup for their home opener. Jakson Raposo and Bailey Kirwin each made their respective season debuts while Beaches Minor Grad Hamish McPherson made his Junior A debut for the Beach — and it didn’t take long for the Maryland commit to make an impact.
Willem Firth opened the scoring for the Beaches with a long-range finish before McPherson tallied his first Junior A goal after scooping up a rebound near the Burlington crease. The Chiefs got on the board with their first goal of the night, however, it was answered by a pair of goals from Firth and Liam MacKay — the transition goal was his first with Toronto.
Tyson Allen and Coltrane Tyson added markers for Burlington, but Firth completed the first-period hat trick and Jacob Hickey added another goal for the Beaches, who went into the first intermission with a 6-3 lead.
The second frame started with two straight Beaches goals, scored by Josh Fairey and Nathan Pouliot. But the momentum would swing in the Chiefs’ favour for the rest of the period.
The visitors found success with quick strikes in transition, and with the Beaches taking four penalties in the period — the latter two causing a 5-on-3 advantage — Burlington scored four of the last five goals in the second. Toronto remained out in front after two, holding a 9-7 advantage with 20 minutes to play.
Burlington were able to get a pair of goals in the third but the difference maker came from Jacob Hickey’s goal with 9:08 to play. From there, Beaches goaltender Will Johnston and the defence were able to shut it down and help the Beaches to the 10-9 victory.
Now sitting at 1-1, the Beaches have the chance to go above .500 on Friday night when they travel to Tony Rose Arena for a showdown with the Orangeville Northmen.