The St. Paul Jr. B Canadiens proved over the weekend that the team is going to continue to be a top contender in the league, first defeating the 2014-15 league champions 6-2 on Friday, and then beating the top ranked team in the league 6-5 Saturday night.
Although Friday’s home game offered a good show for the crowd, head coach Joe Young says it was Saturday’s game in Wainwright that gave the St. Paul team its biggest win of the season, so far.
“We were pretty confident going into it,” says Young, adding, the game against the Bisons went right down to the last minute, with Kona Jackson scoring the game-winning goal with just over a minute left on the clock.
The game was a back and forth event throughout the night, with the Canadiens’ Kyle Braybrook opening the scoring in the first, followed by Ryley Wozniak giving the team a 2-0 lead. But, the Bison responded on the power play with a goal of their own.
In the second period, Jackson would net his first of the night. The Bisons would answer back though, with two goals in the second period, resulting in a tie game heading into the third period.
The Bisons would then capitalize on the power play again, with a goal early in the third, and another goal would follow not long after. But, St. Paul would rally back and score three unanswered goals to win the game by one.
“What we got out of that is a lot of confidence,” says Young. He added that it shows the team that if they stick to what they talk about off the ice, “it’s going to work.”
Young notes that Wainwright has a really strong team and has mostly dominated its opponents this season. The Bisons had only two loses on the season prior to Saturday’s game.
“You have to show that you’re not overwhelmed by their size and their speed,” says Young. “And we did that.”
On Friday night, the Clancy Richard Arena played host to what was a rather rough game between the Canadiens and the Ice.
“Obviously, we played Cold Lake previously in Cold Lake and didn’t play very well,” says Young. The Canadiens wanted to redeem themselves from that game, and the coach says the team showed “more heart and effort” this time around.
“Using our team speed is a big factor,” he said, admitting, “It was a rough game . . . but for the most part we kept our heads . . . But when emotions are at a peak, it gets out of control sometimes.”
Friday’s six goals by the Canadiens were credited to Roddy MacDougall and Braydon Burak in the first period; Bailey Lonsberry with one, followed by Ryley Wozniak netting two goals in the second period; and Wes Thompson wrapped up scoring in the third.
The Canadiens move up to a 15-7 record after this weekend’s games and continue to sit in third place in the NEAJBHL with 30 points.
