Lions finally come home

Head coach Danny Dupont’s road warriors will finally be able to don their home sweaters as they entertain Collège Charles-Lemoyne in a 7:30 encounter. To mark their return and the holiday season, the Lions have decided to adopt a festive atmosphere for the game. Fans are also being asked to bring canned food to be donated to a local food bank and a stuffed toy that will be thrown onto the ice after the Lions’ first goal of the contest, which will then be collected and donated to a local charity. The Lions wrap up what will be 10 consecutive road contests with games tonight in Laval and Friday night in Quebec City against the Saint-François Séminaire. They enter tonight’s game with an 18-6-1 record good enough for third place in the CCM Division.



Oldtimers give back

The Pointe Claire Oldtimers (PCOT) hockey club’s annual Donation Night occurred on Nov. 28 at the Malcolm Knox Aquatic Centre in Pointe Claire. The club remitted $40,000 raised at its annual international hockey tournament last spring to representatives of 37 charities and organizations. Including this year’s amount, PCOT has donated in excess of $600,000 to several charities and local community organizations requiring assistance. The PCOT is looking forward to raising more funds during its 38th annual tournament scheduled for April.



Desforges

captures medal

Dorval native Émilie Desforges continued her strong comeback season with a bronze medal performance in the women’s super G at a Nor-Am Cup alpine skiing competition at Panorama, B.C. on Dec. 11. Despite starting 29th, Desforges, who missed all of last season with a back injury, finished third at 1.19.53. It was her first Nor-Am Cup medal this season in six races.

“It was the first race that I started below 30th so I was very pleased to stand on the podium,� said Desforges, 23, who has put together top-10 performances in four Nor-Am races so far this season, including a fourth-place finish the next day in another women’s super G event at Panorama. “My skiing is going really well. I was technically strong without mistakes. Plus the course was in excellent shape when I went down.�



Craney joins Team Canada

Kirkland resident Warren Craney has been selected to be part of head coach Glen Constantin’s staff that will lead Team Canada in next month’s NFL Global Junior Football Championship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Craney, the defensive co-ordinator for the Concordia University Stingers, will fill the same role for Team Canada, which will feature the top under-20 players from across the country.

After evaluating talent on Saturday and Sunday at a selection camp in Rosemere, Constantine is expected to name his final roster of 40 players sometime this week. Several players who learned their football at North Shore or Lakeshore before going on to play CEGEP AA or AAA ball were part of the selection process.



Bourgault to play international cap

Ile Bizard resident Jonathan Bourgault will be part of the Canadian men’s under-20 squad that plays an international friendly against the United States today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Bourgault, currently playing professionally in Germany for St. Pauli F.C., has been at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., with the rest of head coach Dale Mitchell’s squad since Dec. 10. The training camp has given Mitchell the opportunity to look at another group of core players, including Bourgault, in preparation for this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.

This will be the third taste of international competition at the u-20 level for the 18-year-old Bourgault, a former Ile Bizard house-league and inter-city player as well as u-14 -16 and -18 Lac St. Louis AAA Lakers performer.

He was part of the Canadian u-20 team that scored a 2-1 come-from-behind win against the Czech Republic in Prague, Czech Republic on Oct 6.