The St. Paul Canadiens had a busy weekend, picking up wins against both Vermilion and Frog Lake, while taking some time to raise funds and meet with the community in the process.
The Canadiens started their weekend with a home matchup against the Vermilion Tigers on Nov 7.
St. Paul put forward a symmetrical offensive performance on the night, netting three unanswered goals in each period of play. Ryley Wozniak was the first to find the twine, followed by Jalel Abougouche and Pierre Beaudoin.
Dyson Roy was the big goal scorer in the second, as he was credited with two scores in the frame. Bryton Beattie added another to make it 6-0 for the home team heading into the third.
The visitor’s side of the scoreboard remained untouched in the final period of play, while St. Paul lit up the board three more times to round out the contest. Tyler Bunce scored 4:53 into the third, and Roddy MacDougall and Wozniak later added goals. The final buzzer awarded the Canadiens with a 9-0 victory.
“I think Friday was one of our better, more consistent games of the year,” head coach Joe Young said of the contest. “It was a full effort. We just used our speed so well. Even when we were on the penalty kill, we were attacking and creating turnovers.”
The Canadiens used their off night on Saturday to host a fundraising silent auction event at Smitty’s Restaurant in St. Paul.
“It was an awesome evening,” Young said. “It was nice to get out and kind of hang out with the fans and parents, and get to know people a little better. It ended up being a total success.”
They laced up their skates again on Sunday night for a home matchup against the Frog Lake T-Birds.
The Canadiens were able to outscore the T-Birds 2-1 in the opening period of play, with both goals coming from Wozniak. Frog Lake was able to tie things up in the second, which, according to Young, may have been the wake up call the Canadiens needed.
“We don’t usually play Sunday games . . . it just seemed like we didn’t have the energy that we usually have,” he said. “Once they made it 2-2, the bench started reacting a little differently.”
From there on in it was all St. Paul. The home team added two unanswered goals in the second, scored by Spencer Kilbrei and Mikael Beaudoin. They netted another two unanswered scores in the third, with Tanner Hellquist and MacDougall getting credit for the offensive production. The final score read 6-2 in favour of St. Paul.
“They’re not a bad team. They have skill,” Young said of the team from Frog Lake. “If you’re going to sit back and let them dictate the play, you’re going to lose. We had to bring it right back to them.”
The Canadiens are now sitting in third place in the NEAJBHL with an 8-3 record.
“It’s a great team with a bunch of great guys,” said Roy. “Everybody here wants the same thing, we all want to win. It’s nice to have that much commitment from everyone.”
“I think everybody is starting to buy in that defence wins championships, so if you take care of your own end, it’s going to create opportunities offensively,” Young said. “We’re going to be in games every night. I don’t care who we’re playing; they’re in for a battle. When we put those jerseys on, we’re there to win.”
