Cougars clinch series with 8-6 win over St-Isidore

The Vankleek Hill Cougars are moving on to the National Capital Junior Hockey League (NCJHL) semifinals, after a tight 8-6 win over the St-Isidore Eagles on Saturday night (February 24).

The victory in front of an absolutely packed house at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre not only delighted the team’s fans, it earned the Cougars a second round matchup against the Morrisburg Lions, who finished second in the NCJHL regular season standings with a 21-12-1-0 record – one spot ahead of third place Vankleek Hill (20-14-0-0). The first place Gatineau-Hull Volant (30-2-1-1) will face the Cumberland Castors (18-3-2-1) in the other NCJHL semifinal matchup.

With fans packing the stands in the Vankleek Hill Arena to cheer them on, and hundreds more watching from upstairs, the Cougars came out strong in the first period, jumping out to a 4-1 lead by the end of the first of two goals by Malcolm Seguin, along with singles by Zachary Bigras and Joshua Desjardins. Samuel Levesque replied for St-Isidore.

After team captain Desjardins scored his second of the game with 1:38 left in the second period to give the Cougars a 6-2 lead, things went sour for the Vankleek Hill squad. Just over 20 seconds later Desjardins (cross-checking) and teammate Malcolm Seguin (roughing) were each given minor penalties. Desjardins was also issued a gross misconduct penalty and the Cougars’ captain did not return for the remainder of the game. Maxime Patenaude scored for the Eagles on the two-man advantage with 16 seconds left in the frame to narrow the Cougars’ lead to 6-3 entering the third period.

The resilient Eagles squad refused to roll over in the final frame, with Patenaude scoring to bring St-Isidore within one goal at 7-6 with just 1:39 left. But the comeback fell short, as Bigras scored his second of the game into an empty net with 16 seconds remaining to clinch the 8-6 win – and the series – for Vankleek Hill.

“It was a great game,” said Cougars co-owner Greg McEachern, noting the players were boosted by tremendous fan support on the night and during the whole series. “The barn was packed and also upstairs – there must have been 500 people.”

“The fans are great – they’re coming out and seeing great hockey,” McEachern continued. “Each game there are more and more people at the arena.”

Cougars vs. Morrisburg series begins this weekend

The Cougars and Morrisburg Lions will kick off their NCJHL semifinal series with Game 1 at the Morrisburg Arena this Saturday (March 2). Game time is 7:30 p.m.

The series will shift to Vankleek Hill for Game 2 on Sunday, March 3, in a late afternoon contest scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Game 3 will go in Morrisburg on Saturday, March 9, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Vankleek Hill will host Game 4 on Sunday, March 10, with puck drop scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

If necessary, Game 5 will be in Morrisburg on Friday, March 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m., while Game 6 will be at the Vankleek Hill Arena on Saturday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. Should the series go the full seven games, Game 7 will be in Morrisburg on Sunday, March 17, with a start time of 4:30 p.m.

Cougars thank Jason Jackson for longtime support of team

It is fan support that keeps organizations like the Cougars going, and the team’s owners want to thank longtime supporter Jason Jackson for everything he has done over the years for Vankleek Hill’s Junior C hockey club.

For last Saturday’s clinching game against St-Isidore, Jackson rented the upstairs hall at the Vankleek Hill Community Centre, which allowed it to be packed with fans for the game, in addition to the regular stands.

“He’s always helping us out, particularly during the playoffs,” McEachern said. “Jason’s always going a step above to help us out and we want to give a special shout-out to him.”