Some people thought the Jr. C Alliston Hornets were going to sweep their way to a Georgian Mid-Ontario championship over the Penetang Kings, that's not going to happen.

The Kings won the championship series-opener tonight (Fri., March 7) 2-1 over the Hornets to take the lead in the series 1-0 in front of an almost full house of about 1,000 fans in the New Tec Rec Centre.

Robbie Rutledge scored the only marker for the Hornets in the opening frame on a powerplay assisted by Ryan Algar and Kyle McDowell.

For Penetang, Kelly Loughran and Aaron Duval were the heroes in this one, giving last year's champs a much-needed 1-0 series lead in the finals.

In fact, all three goals in the game were scored against the opponents when they were a man down as both of Penetang's  markers were scored on powerplays too.

Young children held up their copies of the Herald's special section "Go Hornets Go" poster for their hometown heroes to see and fans waved white towels provided by Dixie Cleaners for the opening game.

It was a rough and tumble affair as the two teams set the stage for what looks like it could be a long series. There were a pile of penalites and two game misconducts for fighting in the opener as the two teams marked their turf.

It's been 24 years since the Hornets have drank from the league cup though, and they're determined to press their lips to it once more this season.

We want the whole town to help them on their way.

Inside your Weekend Herald is a special Hornets Section and the back cover is a poster you can hang in your windows at home or in your car.

Alternatively, you can click on the "Hornets Poster" link on the left hand side of our homepage and a PDF of the poster will automatically download. Just open it and print it on your home printer and hang it up somewhere prominent. You can print as many as you like this way. We want to see the whole town papered in green and gold as the Hornets edge closer to becoming 2007/2008 champions.

For immediate results of the games in the series you can click here, or watch our website and Wednesday and Friday editions of The Herald for photos, videos and inside information and updates.

The schedule for the series is as follows: Game two will held be Sun., March 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Penetang. Game three is Wed., March 12 in Alliston, at 7:30 p.m. Game four will be back up in Penetang Fri., March 14, at 8:30 p.m. Game five (if needed) is slated for Sun., March 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Alliston. Game six (if needed) is scheduled for Penetang March 18, at 8:30 p.m., and game seven would be back at home for Alliston March 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Alliston home games are $8 for adults, and $6 for students and seniors. They are available in advance at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre customer service desk.