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OSHAWA -- All is well with the Durham Fury heading into tonight.
Coming off a weekend in which they accumulated four of a possible six points in three consecutive road games, the attitude surrounding the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League club is a positive one.
Well, at least in the eyes of upper management as the club prepared to host the Dixie BeeHives Tuesday.
"I am ecstatic," said general manager John Annis on Monday, one day after a 4-3 win over the Mississauga Chargers at the Governors' Showcase tournament. "All the kids are pissed off. They thought we should have won all three games. Yeah, we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times, but overall we're pretty happy with the results."
The most prevalent self inflicted wound occurred Friday night in Markham against the Waxers. The Fury carried a 3-2 lead late in the third period and appeared well on their way to another stunning upset of a division favourite after having knocked St. Mike's off earlier this month.
However, with the teams playing four-on-four, the powerful Waxers' offence struck with 52 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, where the Fury found themselves shorthanded and at the mercy of the Waxers. The end result was a 4-3 loss.
Though Annis was unable to attend the game, he was quick to point out that it was one the Fury let slip out of their grasp.
"You can't take penalties against a team like that," he said of Markham. "You just can't. We should know that."
On Saturday, it was Durham's inability to capitalize in the shootout that again cost them the extra point. Dixie's Chris Smith scored the only goal of the tie-breaking session as the Fury was dealt another 4-3 setback.
However on Sunday, it was Durham's turn to enjoy the fruits of a 4-3 score with the win over Mississauga.
With a 2-2-3 mark after seven games, Annis admits he is pleasantly surprised at where his club stands.
"Everybody has played well, it's just been great," he says. "(Steven) Koufis and Behn (Robertson) have probably been our two best players, the goalies have been real good. I think we'll be alright this year."
FURY FILES: Luigi Martone, Steven Koufis, and Michael Markovic scored the Fury goals in Markham on Friday, while Saturday, Chris Bain, Koufis and Trevor McKinney scored. In Sunday's win Matt Gauld, McKinney, Koufis and Behn Robertson provided the offence... Wes Annis played the first two weekend games, making 40 saves Friday and 47 Saturday. Brandon Foote played Sunday and registered the victory making 30 stops.
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