Wild week for Lakeshore Canadiens

By: Jordan Ferris

The Lakeshore Canadiens secured first place in their last game of the regular season on Feb. 2 and have won their first two playoff games.

The final regular season game on Feb. 2 started strong for the Canadiens, who were able to hold the Petrolia Flyers off the shot clock in the first 10 minutes of the game. The game, however, remained scoreless until the second period when both Dylan Bradley and Kyler Carter of the Canadiens scored goals two minutes apart. Carter’s goal would remain the game winner as the game ended 3-1. Canadiens forward Connor Rosaasen said it was a fun way to end the season.

“It felt good all the boys were ready to go,” said Rosaasen. “It was good to get first place there and we all know that we have a battle with Blenheim here. We’ll be ready to go.”

The first playoff game was held Feb. 6 in Lakeshore. One takeaway from the game is that Rosaasen is clearly ready for the playoff series. He was the standout player of game one scoring two goals and collecting a total of four points in the Canadiens 4-3 overtime win. One of Rosaasen’s goals was the overtime winner. He said aside from his play, the game was still a team effort.

“Personally it feels good, but we have all been working hard,” said Rosaasen. “It was a great play by Liam to get the puck over to me. It was a big win and we know we’re going to have a tough time with Blenheim, but I feel confident in the group we have.”

Rosaasen was not able to transfer his game one success into the second game of the series which took place Feb. 8. This game saw Blenheim hold their first lead of the series when they opened the scoring on a first period powerplay. Lakeshore did not wait long before tying the score with a power play goal of their own early in the second period. The Canadiens would take a lead later in the period when Hunter Bailey scored an even strength with under five minutes left to play. In the third period, Lakeshore shut down Blenheim’s offence while scoring two goals of their own finishing the game with a 4-2 score.

Lakeshore now has the chance to push Blenheim into a do-or-die situation. If the Canadiens manage to with their Feb. 10 game, they will take a 3-0 series lead over Blenheim. Matthew Teno a forward for the Canadiens, said the team is ready for the challenge of the playoffs.

“We got a good team got a lot of older guys that have been around,” said Teno. “Obviously last year this team last in the finals so they know what it takes they know how it feels to lose. We’re definitely looking to go all the way this year.”