Hockey tournament results

The atom BB Deux Rives Barracudas, bantam AA Lakeshore Panthers and peewee AA West Island Royals all participated in tournaments lately. For the Barracudas and Panthers, the news was good. Not so for the Royals.

The Barracudas went 7-0 en route to capturing the 16th annual Verdun National Tournament. They defeated HRS Épervieres 4-1 in the final. Forward Zachary Tsekos was named Most Valuable Player in the semifinal and final. It was the second tournament win of the year for the Barracudas, currently ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 6 in the province. They finished first at the St. Michel Tournament in December. Meanwhile, the Panthers went 5-1 to win gold at a tournament in Gatineau. After going 1-1 in the preliminary round, the Panthers defeated Les Estacades de Mauricie in the quarter-final, Les Conquérants des Bas Laurentides in the semifinal and the St Laurent Predators in the final. The Panthers’ Nicolas Samoluk was named tournament MVP, while Samoluk and Matthew Bissonnette were named to the tournament all-star team. Finally, the Royals were eliminated from the prestigious Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament in Quebec City last Wednesday after losing 2-1 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers.



Davidson breaks mark

Kirkland resident Vanessa Davidson has made her way into the McGill Martlets hockey record book. The five-foot-eight forward blessed with soft hands and a good shot broke the McGill single-season points record Saturday night at McConnell Arena in downtown Montreal when she set up Rebecca Martindale's game-winner at 2:45 of the first period during the Martlets 6-0 rout over the University of Ottawa. It was the sophomore's 54th point in 33 games overall, which snapped the previous school mark set by Paula Mailloux in 2001-02. Davidson, who learned her hockey in the Lakeshore system, also recently became the fifth member of the Martlets to receive the Club de la Medaille d'Or sports excellence merit award, presented annually to the top players at the university, collegiate, junior major, junior AAA and midget AAA levels, who combine on-ice ability with academics, enthusiasm and sportsmanship. Besides the award, she also picked up a medallion and $500 bursary.



I’m a lumberjack and I’m still the best

Jonathan Blais, currently studying farm management technology at McGill University’s Macdonald campus in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, was recently named most valuable woodsman while leading McGill to its fifth consecutive Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association championship in Bible Hill, N.S. Blais, a five-foot-ten, 202-pound dynamo, finished second at the event, which took place Feb. 10-11, but his seasonal score of 786 points out of a possible 800, gave him the league scoring title for the second straight year.

Blais now qualifies as the only Canadian university student eligible to compete at this summer’s STIHL Loggersports Collegiate Invitational competition. The 20-year-old Blais won last year’s STIHL event in Stillwater, Minn.

“Jonathan never surprises me with his performances,” said McGill head coach John Watson. “He may not be a big guy but he is mature and steady. He's definitely got what it takes to compete on the pro (lumberjacking) tour."