Lions begin second half of schedule

With the holiday break in the books, the Dollard des Ormeaux-based Quebec Midget AAA Hockey League Lac St. Louis Lions returned to action last week with a stretch of three games in four nights. After dropping a 4-3 decision in a shootout to the Châteauguay Patriotes last Thursday night in Châteauguay, a game that saw the home team take a three goal lead through the first two periods, all on power play opportunities only to see the Lions roar back in the third period scoring three unanswered goals to tie the game before losing in the shootout, head coach Danny Dupont’s boys dropped both ends of a home and home weekend series with Trois Rivières. The Lions lost 4-1 on Friday night at the Dollard Civic Centre before suffering a 9-1 drubbing in Trois Rivières on Sunday. The pair of losses left the Lions in seventh place in the CCM Division with 27 points, three behind Amos. The Lions will try to get back on the winning track this weekend when they hop on the bus and head to Gatineau for a game Friday night before returning to host Amos on Saturday night at the Civic Centre. Game time is 7:30.

It has been a very good start to the winter semester sports-wise for area athletes attending the hallowed university situated on the hill in downtown Montreal. Topping the list was Ile Bizard resident Matt Thornhill, who was named McGill’s Athlete of the Week for the period ending January 4. Thornhill, a six-foot-four, 210-pound guard, was named to the all-tournament team at the Université du Québec à Montréal Classique des Citadins men's basketball tournament, held Dec. 28-29. The 22-year-old finance junior tallied 30 points in a win over the University of New Brunswick and added 22 more in a victory over Royal Military College, including his 1,000th career point with the Redmen. Over the two tourney games, he registered 52 points with eight rebounds and shot 58.8 per cent from the floor (20/34), 52.4 from three-point range (11 for 21) and 33.3 from the charity stripe (1/3). He joined the Redmen in 2006 out of Dawson College. Meanwhile, Steven Bielby, a freshman from Pointe Claire and still a member of the Pointe Claire Swim Club, had a pair of silver medals and a bronze as the Redmen swim team placed third of four teams at the third Quebec Cup swim meet of the season held last Saturday in Trois-Rivières. Bielby, a five-foot-seven, electrical engineering major, and a former McGill Athlete of the Week, was second in the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 4:04.65, which met the qualifying standard for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships. He also swam the second leg of the 4x50-metre freestyle relay team, which placed second in 1:37.45. Joining him in that event was freshman Jason Boivin of Pointe Claire. Bielby also led off in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay team, which placed second in 8:13.06. Other members of the quartet included Kevin Harmidy, a senior from Kirkland. Pointe Claire’s Caitlin Chapman was part of the women’s silver-medal winning 4x50-metre team.

Two women hockey players who learned their skills in the Lac St. Louis Hockey Association before going on to play for Dawson College and now the McGill Martlets are among the 20 Canadian Interuniversity Sport players who will make up Canada’s debut entry in women’s hockey at the 2009 Winter Universiade in Harbin, China, February 18-28. Team Canada head coach Dan Church of York University in Toronto selected centre Vanessa Davidson, a Kirkland resident and forwards Caroline Hill of Dorval. Both are physical education majors. Davidson, a senior and two-time All-Canadian, is McGill’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points while Hill, who was invited the 2007 Canadian under-22 training camp, won a Sports Excellence Merit award from the Club de la Medaille d'Or last season.