MORRISBURG – Six unanswered goals in less than 30 minutes ended the Morrisburg Lions’ eight-game losing skid as they downed the North Dundas Rockets Saturday night in Chesterville.
The Lions fell behind in the first half of the game as the Rockets scored in the first period. Parker Lefebrve’s power-play goal, followed by Aiden Melenhorst and Jordan Heuff’s goals in the second period advanced North Dundas into a 3-0 lead.
Morrisburg began their turnaround with just over eight minutes left in the period. James Martens (from Ben Lapier) put the Lions on the scoreboard. Bradley Greggain and Callum Stevenson set up Justin Cyr on a Morrisburg power-play less than three mintues later, cuting the Rockets’ lead to one goal.
Stevenson (from Lapier and Martens) found the back of the net just 25 seconds later to tie the game 3-3.
Lapier (from Martens and Hudson Fetterly) scored the go-ahead goal with seven seconds left in the eventful second period. Morrisburg led North Dundas 4-3 as the teams headed into the third period.
A pair of goals by Stevenson, assisted by Lapier at the 13 and 4 minute marks added insurance to the Lions’ lead. Stevenson’s second of the game was less than 30 seconds into a power-play, while his third goal was scored short-handed.
Morrisburg cruised to a 6-3 win over North Dundas, snapping their losing streak. Lapier was playmaker for the game with four assists and a goal.
Looking to build off their October 26 win, the Lions hosted the unbeaten Gatineau Hull-Volant. Gatineau have won the last two league championships, in-part due to the team’s ability to draw from junior and A-level leagues in Quebec.
Gatineau opened scoring four minutes into the game as Hugo Boucher found his way past Morrisburg goalie Carson Turner. Less than a minute later, Lapier (from Martens and Stevenson) levelled the game 1-1.
Seven minutes later, Gatineau reestablished their lead thanks to a goal tipped in by Maxime Dion. Four minutes later, Lapier (Stevenson, Martens) tied the game again. The teams remained tied 2-2 for the rest of the first period and the entirety of the second period.
Morrisburg was held to only five shots in the second period to Gatineau’s 15, but Turner stood tall in net. A go-ahead goal from Boucher late in the second was pulled back by the referees. Bennett Harty was called for spearing in the last minute of the period, putting the Lions on the back foot to start the third period.
Quick action by Dion off the face off resulted in a power-play goal 20 seconds into the third period – Hull-Volant led the Lions 3-2.
A breakaway by Lapier five minutes later resulted in him completing his natural hat-trick and tying the game 3-3.
The teams were log-jammed until there was 1:20 left in the game. Guillaume Durocher’s goal restored Gatineau’s lead. Lions’ head coach Jamie Smith pulled Turner for the extra attacker to attempt to tie the game. Thirty seconds later, Dion’s empty-netter finished off the Lions, resulting in a 5-3 loss.
The Lions have a busy weekend in front of them as they take on the second-place Westport Rideaus November 2 at home. Following that game, Morrisburg will travel to Vankleek Hill to face the fourth-place Cougars November 3.
Still in the basement of the National Capital Junior Hockey League, the Lions are tied on points with the ninth-place South Grenville Rangers, who have two games in hand.
Meanwhile, Lapier advances on the stats leaderboard to third place after his eight point weekend. Lapier stands at 20 points, with eight goals and 12 assists, two points out of first place.