Bears everywhere. The Mississauga St. Michael's Majors hosted the Kingston Frontenacs at the Hershey Centre Friday evening. Hundreds of teddy bears were thrown onto the ice after the Majors' first goal in the second period. The bears will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Peel Region with proceeds from bear sales to be given to Sleeping Children Around the World. Staff photo by Rob Beintema
Spencer Cobbold has only scored three goals in his Ontario Hockey League career, but the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors rookie's most recent goal, scored tonight at the Hershey Centre was the most significant.
Not only did it open the scoring in a 3-1 win over the Kingston Frontenacs, but it also sparked an avalanche of stuffed toys thrown onto the ice in the Majors' annual teddy bear toss game.
All bears that hit the ice will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Peel and proceeds from bears purchased tonight will be donated to Sleeping Children Around the World, an organization that sends bed kits to children in developing countries.
"It was a big game for us," said Cobbold, who broke a 19-game goalless drought. "Getting the goal was good and then all these teddy bears coming down was pretty cool so it was definitely a big goal."
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Majors (15-14-1-3) and occurred three weeks after the Frontenacs came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Majors 4-3.
The Majors are eighth in the OHL Eastern Conference while the Frontenacs sit in last place. However, Majors coach/general manager knew what to expect from the Frontenacs, who he feels are playing better than their 9-20-2-2 record indicates.
"We knew coming in Kingston has been playing a lot better lately," Boyd said. "They got a big win in Belleville Wednesday so we knew they were going to play hard. We had to bring our competitive level up and I thought we did a good job of that."
Cobbold's goal, scored 2:11 into the second period, was also the most bizarre of his short career.
He fired an innocent-looking point shot towards Kingston goalie Igor Bobkov, but Bobkov caught it and accidentally threw it into his own net.
Other than that blunder, Bobkov was solid with 32 saves on 35 shots, but Mississauga's J.P. Anderson had an even better outing. He stopped 34 of 35 shots.
Shortly after the opening goal, Majors centre Brett Foy was hurt by an elbow to the head by Conor Stokes, who was slapped with a game misconduct. He was helped off the ice and didn't return.
"Anytime you lose a player who plays regularly and kills penalties, it's going to make a difference," Boyd said. "Hopefully Brett's alright. That's our main concern."
The hit will be reviewed by the week within the next few days and a suspension for Stokes is possible.
The Majors have lost two players to injury in the past three games. On Sunday, Mississauga captain Stuart Percy was hurt after he went head first into the boards following a hit from Ben Thompson of the Kitchener Rangers.
Percy suffered a sprained wrist, whiplash and a cut on his cheek requiring stitches. He isn't expected to be out of the lineup for a long time.
Kingston's Darcy Greenaway tied the game midway through the second with a one-timer past Anderson, but Mississauga defenceman Dylan Demelo restored Mississauga's lead with a shorthanded marker 1:10 later.
Demelo, who picked up an assist on Derek Schoenmakers' third-period goal, one-timed a pass from Jamie Wise with teammate David Corrente serving an interference penalty. Defenceman Alex Cord contributed to the Majors attack with two assists.
Both teams went scoreless on the power play. Mississauga was shutout on four chances while Kingston failed to capitalize on six opportunities.
The Majors will host the Sudbury Wolves Sunday at 2 p.m. in their final game before the league's Christmas break.
The Wolves, winners of eight out of their last 10 games, sit one point ahead of the Majors for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
icolpitts@mississauga.net
