Lac St. Louis girls’ regional puck bragging rights in the books

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

The Chronicle

The Kirkland Arena was abuzz with electricity Saturday as the Lac St. Louis Hockey Association girls’ single-letter regional championships from atom to junior were determined.

Adding even a higher taste of drama to the atmosphere was the fact respective victors not only earned the right to skate around the rink with precious banners, but the peewee, bantam, midget and junior A winners also bagged a trip to the prestigious Dodge Cup provincial championships, scheduled for Lac St. Jean April 10-13.

When all was said and done, four area squads captured Lac St. Louis titles. The atom B Lakeshore/Trois Lacs Eagles defeated the Pierrefonds/Dollard des Ormeaux Marquis 2-1 in overtime while the peewee B West Island Royals blanked the Pierrefonds/DDO Marquis 2-0. Meanwhile, the midget A Lakeshore/Trois Lacs Eagles shut out the Suroît Stars 2-0 while the junior A Lakeshore/Trois Lacs Eagles edged Mount Royal/Outremont 3-2.

Not every losing team took the agony of defeat well. The midget A title game featured a nasty melee just after the final whistle blew. A scrum led to several punches thrown before tempers finally cooled, although the two teams did not end up shaking hands.

“I guess they (Suroît) didn’t take the loss very well,” said Eagles head coach Neil Sellors. “It was a sheer case of frustration on their part. They’re a proud team, and a lot was on the line. One of their players cross-checked one of ours, and it escalated from there. It was not a fitting end to a good quality game. They had beaten us a few days before, so they probably thought they could do it again. I thought the score was indicative of the way the game should have ended up, though.”

Give the Eagles full credit for the victory. Sellors’ crew worked hard from the opening whistle, and backed by the solid goaltending of Jessica Leblanc, dominated the contest. The Eagles had several power-play opportunities in the third period, but could not capitalize.

The game was scoreless until Bonnie Ward gave her team a 1-0 lead with time running out in the first period. Ward capped a wonderful individual effort that saw her go around a pair of defenders before depositing the puck up high on the goalies’ blocker side. Melanie Sellors then made it 2-0 with about five minutes left in the middle frame, converting a nice pass from Leah MaGee. A solid Eagles’ defence and Leblanc held the fort the rest of the way.

“Our goal all year has been to get to the Dodge Cup and we finally achieved it,” said Sellors. “I feel we have the kind of team that will be competitive up there. Our girls have played some top teams this year in tournaments and did very well, so things look positive.”

Note: Congratulations to the peewee AA Deux Rives Dauphins, bantam AA West Island Royals, midget AA Trois Lacs Eagles and junior AA Lakeshore Panthers. Each captured Lac St. Louis regional titles Sunday at the St. Lazare Arena.