The St. Paul Jr. B Canadiens have managed to make the 2014-15 season the team’s most successful in nearly a decade, as the team prepared for Game 7 of the first round of NEAJBHL playoffs, early this week.
But leading up to Game 7 was a lot of hard work over the weekend. On Saturday night, the team played for an arena filled with fans in St. Paul. A strong showing by the team brought them a 5-1 win, and kept the team alive in the playoffs.
Prior to Saturday’s game, the team was trailing the Lloydminster Bandits 3-1 in the first round of playoffs. But, another strong showing on Sunday night in Lloydminster, would give the Canadiens a 9-4 win, and tie up the series, requiring Game 7 to take place in St. Paul, tonight.
“I’ve said it all year long – we have a lot of character in our room. We have a lot of leadership,” said Coach Joe Young, as he spoke about the weekend’s games. Young says at this point of the season, the players know what to do, and they know what the coaches want from them.
“We played with desperation, because we had to,” said Young, adding, any loss over the weekend meant an end to the season for the Canadiens. Young says the team is simply working on winning one period at a time now.
“The most important thing at this time is hard work, and being gritty.”
Saturday’s game was filled with action, as the Canadiens found the back of the net repeatedly. Despite the Bandits scoring first, the Canadiens would rally and find the net three times before the end of the first period.
First, it was a goal by Wes Thompson that would tie things up. Then, a goal by Tyler Bunce would give the Canadiens the lead. A third goal with about a minute and a half left in the first period would be credited to Jalel Abougouche.
The Canadiens would pull away even further, with another goal by Bunce in the second, much to the pleasure of hundreds of Canadiens’ fans in attendance. A final goal by Roddy MacDougall in the third would solidify the Canadiens’ win in the third.
As the buzzer sounded the end of the game, St. Paul’s players eagerly congratulated goalie Jared Lafond, who managed to stop 31 shots on goal.
In Lloydminster, the Canadiens would continue to dominate the play. Bunce would open up the scoring for the team. Then, some Bandit offense would give the home team a 2-1 lead heading into the second. But, a six-goal streak in the second period would eventually earn the Canadiens the win.
MacDougall would score four of the Canadiens’ second-period goals, while Captain Jordyn Wozniak would net one, along with Ryley Wozniak. The third period would again see a bit of a comeback by the Bandits, with two goals scored in the team’s favour, but the Canadiens would also net a couple goals by Dyson Roy and Pierre Andre Beaudoin.
Lafond would again have a good night, saving 37 shots.
When speaking on the turnout by the fans on Saturday’s game, Young said he was very happy to see so many people showing their support for the Canadiens.
“It’s great to see. It motivates the guys,” he says, later adding, “Hockey is finally back in this town.”
The puck drops at 8 p.m. for Tuesday night’s game.
Following the weekend’s action, the Frog Lake T-Birds fell to the Cold Lake Ice in the first series, 4-1. The T-Birds showed some strength on Feb. 19 with an 11-5 win, but would lose 8-4 on Saturday, closing out the series.
