Big Four Win for Morrisburg Little Rocks

After winning their South East Division against the South Grenville #2 Rangers in two straight games, the South Dundas Midget B House Lions, were stopped by the Alexandria Glens in their pursuit of the East Division Championship and the right to advance to the UCMHL championship final.

The Lions played four games of hockey in five days.

In the first two days, Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6, they put together 3-2 and 3-1 victories over the Rangers  to win their South East Division Championship.

They saw action against the Glens on Sunday, March 8 in Alexandria, (4-2 loss) and on home ice Monday night, March 9 (7-3 loss) for the Eastern  Championship.

The Glens came out solid in the series opener on Sunday. They went up 2-0 in the first period on goals by Nick Hansen and Nathan Currier.

Alexander McMaster made it 3-0, Glens in the second period.

The Lions got one back early in the third from Kody Arsenault, assisted by Noah Picotte and Jonathan Mayhew, but a Jordan Dunny goal again stretched it out for the Glens with 7:16 left in the game.

The Lions counted their final goal with just over two minutes left, from Trevor Nicolaassen assisted by Ewen Baril in the 4-2 Glens win.

The Lions needed a win to stay alive in game two of the four point series Monday night on home ice, and they hung tough through the first two periods.

The Lions were first on the scoreboard with an unassisted Picotte goal, and they held on until the final minute of the frame.

In that final minute, Brandon Lavern and Nick Leroux both counted to give the Glens a 2-1 edge heading into the second period.

The Glens stretched their lead to 4-1 early in the second, but the Lions charged back in the last two minutes with a pair of goals from Trevor Nicolaassen to keep it close at 4-3.

Just over 3:13 into the third period the Glens’ Laverne counted to make it 5-3. He added two more as the Glens skated to the 7-3 victory and the East championship series win.

The Lions claimed their Division (southeast) championship in two straight games against the South Grenville #2 Rangers.

The series kicked off Thursday, March 5 in Cardinal, with a 3-2 Lions win. 

Tyler Nelson had a big night, scoring all three of the Lions goals while Logan Hummel provided an assist on each. Trevor Nicolaassen helped out on goal number one and Cassie Hummel earned an assist on the second.

After a scoreless first period, Nelson put the Lions up 2-0 in the second period

The Rangers charged back in the third to tie it 2-2, with goals from Austin Mott and Zach Illingworth.

That set the stage for the winner from Nelson with 1:39 left in the game.

Game two was played in Morrisburg on Friday night, with the Lions claiming a 3-2 win to wrap up the series.

Again it was a scoreless first period.

Austin Mott got the lone Rangers goal midway into the second period, but his effort was quickly cancelled by a Logan Hummel goal assisted by Nicolaassen and Nelson.

Action settled down and it wasn’t until the final five minutes of the game that the Lions were able to break away from the 1-1 tie.

Austin Robinson, unassisted, made it 2-1 with 4:39 left in the game and Nelson, assisted by Logan Hummel added the insurance with 1:26 left.

The series win put the Lions against Alexandria for the East Division championship.

The Midget B House playoff setup saw the top three teams in each division get a first-round bye while the fourth and fifth place teams played for fourth spot.

After they sat out their first round bye, the Lions defeated NGS2 in a three point series

That win put them against South Grenville 2 for the Southeast Division championship.

[…]

Wellness, and community involvement are both important issues for SDS Kerr/Beaver Dental and that’s why the early-summer purchase of a Stand Up Paddleboard for the South Dundas Sports Lending Library was a perfect fit.

The week of September 29 to October 3, the plant hosted a week-long Wellness Initiative where employees were given the opportunity to participate in and learn of a variety of activities that promote a healthy, active lifestyle.

To take advantage of the opportunity and make public the Paddleboard donation to the Library, South Dundas Recreation Program Coordinator Ben Macpherson, loaded up the board and transported it to the plant.

MacPherson explained the use of the board. “It is currently one of the fastest growing sports. You can take it out and just lay on it to relax, or you can use it for a good core workout. You can work your legs, core and arms. The river provides a really good workout.”

“We’ve had kids use it as young as 6-7 years, and the paddleboard was borrowed every weekend from the time we got it in mid-June to September. The same as the kayaks. With the success of the paddle board, we are going to purchase a second board.”

“We wanted to do something for the lending library,” said Isabella Farlinger. “I was aware of the stand up paddleboard and thought it would make a good addition to the lending library. We raised some money at a barbecue we held at our open house, and the company topped it up.”

Macpherson explained that the current board, at a cost of just under $800, is “middle of the road to high end in design. There are cheaper paddleboards and more expensive boards. This board is designed to be user friendly because it is wider.”

Stand up paddleboarding originated in Hawaii as an off-shoot of surfing. The paddles used to propel the board are similar to the traditional canoe paddles and used while the paddle boarder is standing on the board.

As part of the Wellness Initiative at the plant a two-day trade fair provided vendors the opportunity to display their products and service.

Attending were Great West Life, Encon, Canadian Cancer Society, Lakeshore Massage, Bayshore Workplace Health and Safety, South Dundas Recreation, Heart and Stroke and Natunola.

The employees sat in on retirement planning sessions, and lunch n’ learn sessions on topics such as healthy eating, how to quit smoking and online education programs offered through St. Lawrence College.

There was also a work day walking challenge.

The South Dundas Recreation display highlighted the many recreational activities available in South Dundas, including the Sports Lending Library.

With the summer now gone, Macpherson explained those seasonal items will now move to the back of the Library shelves and demand will be for snowshoes, cross-country skis and skates. 

All of the equipment needed for each, in addition to helmets, are available in assorted sizes.

[…]

While Morrisburg Junior B Lions coach Thom Racine says “our power play was dreadful all night, and we need to get that in sinc soon” the opposite held true Friday night for the Winchester Hawks who struck for three power play goals in a 5-2 win.

Sunday’s game was a different story as the Lions and the visiting Alexandria Glens kept the penalties to a minimum, but again the Lions ended up on the wrong side of a 6-2 count to collect their fifth loss of the young season.

Friday night in Winchester, “the Lions played a pretty good 40 minutes, but the second period collapse was all too familiar,” says Racine.

Lance Hodgson gave the Lions a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal at 2:01 of the first period, and that lasted until early in the second when Brock Burge got the Hawks rolling with an unassisted power-play goal.

Hawks goals flowed consistently after that, coming at 9:43 from Graham Loyst, 10:37 from Josh Stubbings and 19:46 from Brock Burge on the Hawks power play. 

Nevin Guy pushed it to 5-1, again on the Hawks power play, at 12:33 of the third period and that was it.

Lions goaltender Mikael Dion shut the Hawks down for the remainder of the period, but the Lions were good for only one more, that on the Lions power play with 2:05 left in the game from Matt Ouimet (unassisted).

“We did a lot of watching and forgot to pay attention to our own zone,” says Racine. “I thought we adjusted well in the third period, but could not create any offence.”

The Lions were out shot 54-29. They scored only one goal in 10 power-play opportunities, while the Hawks were successful three out of six times.

The St. Lawrence Division’s first place Alexandria Glens brought their game to Morrisburg on Sunday and never faultered as they worked their way to their eighth win of the season.

They led 2-0 after the first period and carried a 4-1 advantage into the third as they headed for  a 6-2 win.

“Last year we fell behind so early in games we never had a chance to recover,” says Racine. “Sunday against Alexandria, it was no different.”

“Down 2-0 before the five minute mark deflated us, and, although we were the best team for the next 15 minutes, there was no reward.”

“I was not that upset with the entire game. At times we showed we can skate with these top teams, but when we make mistakes we get burned seemingly every time.”

“We also did not move the puck and use each other often enough.”

Ryan Ward chipped in for the lone Lions goal of the second period on the Lions power play with Alex Steingruber and Sylvester Bzdyl assisting.

Ty Hodgson, from Lance Hodgson and Marc Antoine, added goal number two at 6:23 of the third period, again on the Lions power play.

Dion had a busy time in the Lions net as the Glens out shot the Lions 41-29.

Zachary Montpetit-Car and Jean-Francois Dubois had two goals apiece for the Glens, and Bradley Massia and Shane Kitchen collected singles.

“We have a real chance to help ourselves over the next two weeks, but the competition is not going to hand us anything,” says Racine. “Akwesasne is struggling out of the gate and due for a win, and Char-Lan got their first win last weekend.”

The Wolves are in town this Friday night, October 14 for an 8:30 p.m. start and Saturday night, the Lions travel to Williamstown to take on the Rebels. Next Wednesday night they are in Brockville.

[…]