CHESTERVILLE – Perilously holding onto a playoff spot with seven games remaining in the regular season, the Morrisburg Lions were unable to gain any ground this weekend. Morrisburg lost both games this weekend and had to rely on the basement-dwelling South Grenville Rangers to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Lions were on the road this weekend, stopping Friday night (January 10) in Westport to square off against the division-leading Rideaus.
Westport opened scoring late in the first period of their match with Morrisburg to take a 1-0 lead. Lions’ forward Lukas Rozon’s shot bounced off the stick of a Rideaus player and into the net, tying the game at 1-1. Ben Lapier and Bennett Harty assisted on the goal.
Lapier scored one of his own 25 seconds later (from Justin Cyr and Harty). The Lions took the 2-1 lead into the second period.
After 13 minutes of uneventful hockey, Westport tied the game 2-2 as a breakaway by Brock Seed (unassisted) got past Lions’ goalie Carson Turner. Cyr (from Rozon and Lapier) restored Morrisburg’s one-goal lead as the team led Westport 3-2 into the third period.
The Rideaus tied the game again early in the third period and secured a 4-3 win in the final four minutes of the game.
The losses kept coming in Saturday’s road game January 11 in Chesterville against the North Dundas Rockets. This was the first matchup for the teams since the Rockets traded for the league’s top goal-scorer – Noah Penney – from the Rangers.
In the span of fewer than five minutes, the Lions took a 3-0 lead in the first period. Cyr (from Kahontiio Lazore and Jordan Elliott) opened Morrisburg’s run, and he added a second goal (from Lapier) less than four minutes later. Elliott added one of his own – his second of the season – set up by Lapier and Cyr a minute later.
Penney put the Rockets on the scoreboard early in the second period, weaving his way through the Lions’ defence. An incomplete penalty call in North Dundas’ end eight minutes into the period saw the Rockets escape with a six-minute power play. North Dundas put that to good use with Jordan Cruz and Penney scoring to tie the game at 3-3. Jordan Heuff added one more for North Dundas, who took the lead for the first time in the game. Lapier tied the game less than two minutes later (from Shamus McDonald). Will Colborne broke the tie in favour of the home team with under two minutes remaining in the second period. The Lions trailed the Rockets 5-4.
Morrisburg rallied for the equalizer but couldn’t find their way through North Dundas’ defence to the goal. In the final minute of play, the Lions pulled Turner for the extra attacker, but North Dundas intercepted and scored on the empty net. Morrisburg lost 6-4.
A 4-3 win by the Rangers over the Inferno kept Almonte from claiming eighth place in the league from Morrisburg. Four points separate seventh to 10th place in the NCJHL standings. Morrisburg has five games remaining in their regular season, South Grenville six, while Almonte and the Cumberland Castors have eight games left.
This coming weekend is an important six-pointer for Morrisburg. Beginning January 17, the Lions host the Inferno at the Morrisburg Arena (8 p.m. puck drop). They travel to Prescott January 18 and to host the Inferno Sunday afternoon (1:20 p.m. start).
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