South Dundas Novice B Lions win on late goal

In the last week, the Morrisburg Junior B Lions have been giving their fans something to talk about as they went to work to win three in a row, one of which was against the undefeated St. Lawrence Division, first place Casselman Vikings.

The Lions kicked off their three-game streak, the first in many seasons, on home ice Saturday, October 18, when they disposed of the Westport Rideaus by a 13-6 score.

Then it was off to Casselman last Thursday, October 3, when the Lions did what no other team has managed so far this season…collect points from the Vikings in a 2-1 overtime, shoot-out victory.

They posted win number three on home ice Saturday night, when, with Keiran Weir unbeatable in net, they blanked the Brockville Tikis, 5-0.

They were stopped by a 4-3 loss from the Akwesasne Wolves Sunday, on Cornwall Island.

“It felt very exhilarating,” said coach Mark Evans of the win over Casselman last Thursday night. “The boys were ecstatic. They knew all their hard work had come down to that. They stuck to the game plan, blocked up the lanes, and when they got into trouble they played smart.”

“There was some really great goaltending at both ends of the ice (Gianmarco De Meis was in net for the Vikings), and it was a good game of hockey to watch. It was really good to see the kids rewarded for their hard work.”

All of the game scoring took place in the second period with Maxime Choquette putting the Vikings on the board just 3:25 in. At 5:09, Jacob Kendrick with help from Landon Veenstra, struck for the Lions to even it and that’s the way it stayed, tied 1-1 through regulation play.

After a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout for a decision. 

Dallas Blacksmith was first up for the Lions, and his success was cancelled by Grant Hebert. 

Michael Paquette then counted for the Lions and when Sebastien Plante was unsuccessful in his attempt against Keir, the Lions were in the driver’s seat.

However the goaltenders had it covered. Neither Jacob Kendrick for the Lions nor Taylor Widenmaier was successful, and the Lions picked up two points for the 2-1 shutout win.

Back home on Saturday night, with Weir again in net, the Lions pounced quickly on the visiting Westport Rideaus. They went up 2-0 in the first period, and led 4-0 after two as they worked their way to the 5-0 victory.

Michael Paquette (from Justin Rutley and Jordan Smail) and Cole Fowler (from Cole Beckstead) provided the Lions first period goals.

In the second period, it was Landon Veenstra (from Dallas Blacksmith) and Jacob Guillot (from Ryan Griffin and Dylan Nixon).

Their final goal was scored on their power play, by Dallas Blacksmith, with help from Cole Beckstead and Jacob Kendrick. 

“Keiran played two stellar games,” said Evans. “It was good to see, and it was great for him to get back-to-back wins.”

Sunday, the Lions winning streak was ended by the Akwesasne Wolves, 4-3. 

“We were asleep at the switch. We weren’t ready to go,” said Evans. “The effort and intensity wasn’t there, especially in the first period.” 

In the first period, the Wolves went up 3-0 on two goals by Zack Seguin and one from Derik Dionne.

The Lions got one back on their power play at 16:36 of the second period from Brodie Barkley, assisted by Cole Blanchard and Jacob Kendrick.

Then just 1:18 into the third period they cut the gap to 3-2 with a Dallas Blacksmith counter assisted by Jacob Kendrick and Tanner Hummel.

Six seconds later, Isaac Barr beat Lions goaltender John Bilmer to again give the Wolves a two-goal edge.

Some intense play followed, but the Lions ran up against a hot Cory Garrow and managed only one more from Zack Renfrew, assisted by Curtis Evans and Ryan Griffin.

“It’s all about being ready to start,” said Evans. “We almost did it (recovered) but we ran into their hot goalie. He’s solid, and they had only 36 goals against going into the game. When they get three or four goals against you, you are going to have your work cut out against him to get back into it.”

Despite the loss, Evans says the Lions are “happy with the progress, but we are not resting on our laurels. We need to keep working and to tighten up our defence. Your offense will win you games, but your defence will win you championships. We should be looking at two to three goals against per game.”

The three win run, helps to pull the Lions up in the St. Lawrence Division standings. They remain in fifth place in the six team division with 10 points, just two back of the Winchester Hawks and Akwesasne Wolves tied with 12.  Both the Hawks and Wolves have two games in hand over the Lions.

The Alexandria Glens are in the division’s second spot with 13 points, and the Casselman Vikings top the chart at 19 points with nine wins and the shoot out loss to the Lions.

Coming up the Lions are in Winchester against the Hawks  Saturday night, November 1.

[…]

League play at the Morrisburg Curling Club was completed this week, and the results follow: 

The Tuesday night men’s final was won by the team of Larry Cooper, Barry Zeran, Len Bellamy and Bert Smail. 

In the senior men’s last draw, the Fraser Trophy champion team was Al Harriman, Keith Robinson, Bill Laurin and Albert DeJong. The second-place team was Raymond Benoit, Doug Jarvis, Paul Dobry and Earl Jeacle, and third place went to Peter Zeran, Arnold Barkley, Fred Langlotz and Bob Bechard. 

The day ladies, the Wednesday night ladies, and the Friday night mixed leagues don’t declare winners, so there are no results for them. They do enjoy their outings to the fullest, though.

The final for the Thursday night competitive league was played after the closing banquet on Saturday night. The two teams had been through playoffs on Monday and Tuesday nights in this very well-balanced league, and the game we saw was close and well-played. 

A few players were unable to make it to the game, but they were ably-replaced for the match. Larry Cooper, Chris and Nancy Barkley and Josh Laurin competed with Mahlon Locke, Wendy Casselman, Joe McCooeye and Kathy Norg for the club championship. The game could have gone either way, with shots that wouldn’t have looked out of place against teams we’ve been watching on television. Larry’s team edged Mahlon’s and we can only hope that next year’s final will be as exciting to watch

Before Saturday’s banquet, all present were invited to try their skills in three competitions. In the one for the “best putt”, Anjo Norg took home the prize money, the “draw through the port” was won by Peter Zeran, and Rick Mackenzie was victorious in the “hit and roll.”

The closing bonspiel was an all-day affair, and the first draw saw Jack Barkley, Kathy Johnston, Kathy Killick and Eleanor Allison emerge victorious, with honourable mentions to runner-ups Keith Robinson, Paul Gunther, Bob Bechard and Fred Langois. In the late draw, Wendy Casselman, Rick Mackenzie, Jeff Trumble and Daryl McDonell won, with Sam Locke, Carolyn Beckstead, Paula Locke and Mark Mcdonald placing second. Very good play was in evidence for these final matches in the bonspiel season.

In the business meeting, Jack Barkley thanked Mahlon Locke for his three years’ service as president. Mahlon then took charge of the agenda, and indicated that he would end his term in September, closing out some unfinished business concerning the grants for the club. 

The club house and the rink are in very good shape, and with any luck, no major replacements or repairs will be needed for some time. 

Mahlon invited those interested to inform him or other executive members of names, theirs or others, interested in assisting on the board or the social committee. 

A rummage sale is planned for the long weekend when the town holds garage sales, rentals over the summer are welcomed, and the last executive meeting before the new curling season will be held in the week before registration.

The banquet followed, with the delicious turkey dinner enjoyed by all. Our thanks to the chef, who also prepares meals at the golf club, and her volunteers, who looked after over 70 people in the lounge.

Finally, a team of our ladies were in Ottawa last week at the Navy club for their bonspiel. Gretta McGann, Betty Locke, Sharon Van Allen and Linda Murphy did battle with an Ottawa club and then one from the R.A. after lunch, losing tight matches.

We hope to see you all back at the club in early October. Watch for the announcement of registration night in the Morrisburg Leader in September. 

[…]

–With the help of nationally and internationally acclaimed curler Lynn Kreviazuk, the Morrisburg Curling Club delivered its game to potential young curlers at Morrisburg Public and St. Mary-St. Cecilia schools on Monday. And it was a lot of fun.

Kreviazuk, 23, along with her older sister Allison and younger sister Cheryl, began curling in Ottawa in the Little Rocks program. From that start, she became a member of teams skipped by Rachel Homan, Clancy Grady and Allison Flaxey and has, under her broom, a Canada Winter Games championship, and various national championships at the Junior and Bantam curling levels.

Most recently, in February of this year, she was a member of Team Canada skipped by Breanne Menkin, who won the Universiade Silver Medal in Spain.

Monday, Kreviazuk delivered The Curling Canada Rocks and Rings program to three grades at each of Morrisburg P.S and SMSC. The program introduces curling to elementary school children by taking the curling rink to the gym in the form of FloorCurl kits which include rocks (on wheels) and target mats.

Kreviazuk, who graduated from Carleton University in December with a political science degree, has been delivering the program  “as part time work throughout university.”

Having started curling at the age of six years, she recommends that children start curling at a young age in the Little Rocks program.

The Rocks and Rings program, “helps to familiarize kids with the sport,” she explains. “A lot of kids might not have any other opportunity to try it. Curling is a great sport and anybody can play…tall, short, male, female. The cost is fairly inexpensive when compared to other sports, and there is very little equipment required.  Everyone and anyone can play.”

Kreviazuk was accompanied to the schools on Monday, by Morrisburg Curling Club president Ruth Kelly and club member Jack Barkley.

The Morrisburg Curling Club has been proactive in recruiting members this season, and Kelly looks forward to growing the membership in the younger age category next year.

“This year we had just Little Rocks, and next year we will have Bantam Curling,” says Kelly who is a Level Three Curling Coach and has coached at International curling levels. “Ian and Kathy Wilson have been running our Little Rocks program, and they have been very successful with it. The kids have stayed with it, and some will be graduating to bantam next year.”

Kelly too promotes the game as “an excellent sport for children. It’s full of etiquette and teaches social skills. It’s played in a safe environment and provides an overall good learning experience. Even at the young level, the curlers sit down with their opponents after a game.”

Following the presentations at the schools, Kreviazuk dropped by the Morrisburg Curling Club to meet and discuss coaching strategies with a number of club members who have volunteered to assist in the Curling Canada Getting Started for Adults program which the club will launch on Monday nights next season.

This has been prompted by Kelly who ran a casual Monday evening program for non-curlers, this past year. 

“It was a casual drop in and the same group came back each week,” says Kelly. “We learned something new each week. We did one half hour of instruction and then went right into a game. Our first game took two hours to play two ends, but we continued on and it got better. Then at Christmas they all joined leagues in the club. We got 20 new members out of it.”

Kreviazuk met with would-be volunteer instructors for next season’s Getting Started for Adults program. She discussed the program and offered up various tips for coaching with emphasis and tips on how to help new curlers with balance, setup and throwing momentum. 

Kelly stresses that curling clubs today, to be successful, must be proactive in attracting people to curling, and Monday’s presentations by the very talented Kreviazuk were a sweep in the right direction.

[…]