Fueled by the support of the home crowd team, the St. Paul Jr. B Canadiens pulled off an overtime 4-3 win on Sunday night against the visiting Lloydminster Bandits to go 1-1 in the playoff series.
“The energy is unbelievable right now. It’s been a long time coming getting that win in the playoffs,” said coach Joe Young, saying it has been nine years since the team has won a playoff game.
“Obviously when we came back here three years ago to get this team steered in the right direction, one of the things we talked about was getting the fans back in the building and just putting a good product in the ice,” he said.
Several people came out on Sunday to support the team and cheer them on, after the Canadiens took a 6-3 loss in the team’s first matchup with the Bandits on Feb. 12. During Sunday night’s game, the team would start strong, with three goals in the first period, courtesy of Mikael Beaudoin, Bryton Beattie, and Jamie Wozniak, which was only answered by one from the Bandits. However, the Bandits would steal back the lead with another two in the second and third, sending the game into overtime.
Beaudoin would close out the intense overtime with a goal, assisted by Pierre Beaudoin.
Young said the team works really hard to get a win for the people paying to come out to the games, but he noted the playoff intensity is just going to mount for the upcoming away games in Lloydminster.
“When you get in the road for a playoff game, it’s a tougher game to play. You’re in the opposition rink. You’ve got to simplify it a bit more. We just have to basically have a very good first period and see where we go from there.”
He knows that some of the team’s supporters plan to hit the road to catch the Canadiens in action, on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. and then again on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Lloydminster, before they come home for Saturday night’s game in St. Paul at 7:30 p.m. The week closes off with a Sunday night game in Lloydminster.
Winning two games on the away stretch would be “a bonus,” said Young, who said he would settle for one, but either way, he was feeling optimistic about the week ahead.
“I like our chances.”
See next week’s Journal for the full recap of the playoff games and for more on Jordyn Wozniak, the Canadiens player honoured with three awards from the league.
