It had to end sometime.

The Alliston Junior C Hornets capped an 11 game winning streak Fri., Oct. 26, after dropping their first game of the season 5-1 to the second place Penetang Kings.

A large crowd of some 450 people turned out at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre to see the league’s two top teams battle it out.

After the weekend, both Alliston and Penetang have only lost one game each, and that was to each other.

Friday’s game turned into a fight for the Alliston squad after the Kings opened the scoring early in the first period when Corey Hastings capitalized on a bounce in front of the net to put Penetang up by one.

Two more followed to give the Kings the edge going into the second period.

Penetang got number four midway through the second period and followed up with a fifth goal on a power play.

Alliston’s only goal came later when Jason Farquhar picked off the corner during a scramble in front of the net.

Hornets head coach Darrin Shannon said the loss pretty much reflected what happened on the ice.

“They worked hard and they deserved the win. They were ready to play and they out played us", he said of the Penetang squad.

Even though the Hornets have had a stellar year so far, the Kings are last year's champions and that’s a fact that can’t be ignored either by the Hornets or any other team in the league.

“They are the benchmark that every team in the league has to match. I think we are going to get better and we have (on this team) the talent to do it. Our forwards are very strong and that’s our biggest strength.”

Several of Alliston’s games this year have been high scoring blow-outs, but Shannon said those games don’t necessarily create a winning team in the end.

“My focus for the team now is not the goals that we score, it’s the ones that we give up that matter. You learn from winning and you learn from losing.”

Hornet winger Brett Eeles said the loss will give the team some perspective for the next time they meet the Kings.

“They came out ready to play, that’s for sure. I think it’s a wakeup call for us. This was a big learning experience. We’ll be ready the next time we play them. We needed more quality shots tonight and it could have been a different story.”

The Hornets will have a few days off before returning to home ice on Fri., Nov. 2, to face the Erin Shamrocks.

The puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.