Lions lose close one to Rideaus

Welcome back to the ice – Morrisburg Lions’ forward Bennett Harty (centre, #14) returned to the ice following a three game suspension. The 17 year old forward has six goals and three assists in 19 games during his rookie season with the team. Pictured with Harty is forward Ben Lapier (#29) who broke the franchise record for assists Sunday afternoon with 104 across three seasons in all competitions. Lapier leads the league this season with 34 helpers and 52 points. (The Leader/Blancher photo)

MORRISBURG – Fresh off a 5-3 win over the South Grenville Rangers Saturday night, the Morrisburg Lions lost a close game against division leaders Westport Rideaus December 15.

Morrisburg surprised their Westport visitors, scoring two goals in the opening 71 seconds of the game. In the first play of the game, Justin Cyr (from Ben Lapier and Jordan Elliott) sniped a shot past Rideaus’ goalie Ben Spicer for the early 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Owen McMillan (from Ashton Adams and Aronhiawaks Rice) scored to send the Lions up 2-0. The Rideaus cut that lead in half scoring near the half-way mark in the period but Cyr (Lapier, Elliott) added a power-play goal late in the fray to restore Morrisburg’s two goal lead. After 20 minutes, the Lions led the Rideaus 3-1.

The opening minutes of the second period was Morrisburg players’ turn to be surprised. A pair of goals by Westport tied the game 3-3. The Rideaus and Lions each traded a goal apiece, Cyr’s power-play goal brought Morrisburg back to tie Westport 4-4 going into the third period.

A penalty shot awarded to Westport early in the third period resulted in the team regaining their lead over Morrisburg, now 5-4. The Lions pulled goalie Carson Turner for an extra attacker, a gamble that resulted in Cyr (Lapier, Adams) tying the game with 2:01 left. With 18 seconds left before heading to overtime, Rideaus’ forward Matthew Leaver put the puck past Turner for the game winner. Morrisburg fell to Westport 6-5.

Saturday’s win added two much-needed points to the Lions record, keeping the team in ninth place with 13 points so far this season. The team sits one point behind the eighth place Almonte Inferno and a playoff spot.

The Lions have two more games on the schedule before the Christmas break. They host the North Dundas Rockets December 21 at the Morrisburg Arena, 7:15 p.m. game start. They visit Prescott December 22 as they look to put some coal in the stocking of the South Grenville Rangers.

The Lions will resume their 2024-25 campaign in a rematch with the Rideaus at home on January 4, 2025.