Atom and Midget Comets win their divisions
Atom and Midget Comets win their divisions
Update: this story has been updated with more details from U18 Manager Tim Ferrigan.
Two teams from the Fort-Coulonge Minor Hockey Association took home first place in their respective divisions over the weekend. In the Atom (U11) age group, the Comets won their game against Petawawa by a landslide 5-0, taking first in the B finals.
On Sunday, in front of a home crowd of around 200 spectators at the Centre de loisirs des Draveurs Century 21 Élite, the Midget (U18) Comets won 2-0 over Renfrew, finishing first in the A division. Xavier Graveline and Tyson Ferrigan scored the goals that ended the season on a high note (team photo below).
The following is written by U18 manager Tim Ferrigan:
“The Fort-Coulonge Midget Comets, many playing in their final game of minor hockey, had the biggest win of their lives on Sunday, defeating the Renfrew Timberwolves in the third and deciding game of the Upper Ottawa Valley Minor Hockey League’s Midget playoffs to become the A division champions. The Comets finished 3rd out of 13 teams in the regular season with a record of 13-5-2, just behind Arnprior and the team they would eventually meet in the finals, Renfrew.
Along the way they gained some momentum with big tournament wins in Barry’s Bay, Kingston and Shawville and headed into the playoffs hot. The top 7 teams in the regular season would play for the A championship in a round robin format, while the bottom 6 teams would play for the B. Only the top two teams would advance to the A finals, so the Comets knew they would have to be close to perfect to have a chance. All six round robin games were hard fought against tough opponents but they found a way to dig deep and finished undefeated securing first place in the round robin with a record of 4-0-2. They then waited to see who their dance partner in the finals would be, and the tough Renfrew team locked up that spot with a record of 3-2-1. The top 2 teams would now face off in a final series with the first team to 4 points being awarded the championship.
With Fort-Coulonge finishing first in the round robin, they earned home ice advantage and therefore hosted game 1 which was played on March 24. An extremely tight game was contested in front of a big Friday night crowd and the result was a 2-2 tie. Pierre-Luc Lariviere and Hugo Boisvert did the goal-scoring for the Comets. Saturday, the teams met again for game 2 in Renfrew and you could feel the tension had increased in the series with both teams knowing that a loss here would put them on the edge of elimination. Again the momentum went back and forth and Renfrew tied it up late and that is how it would stay with a final score of 3-3. Scoring for the Comets were Xavier Graveline, Jordan Acres-Levesque and Hugo Boisvert. Game 3 back in Fort-Coulonge Sunday would decide a winner with both teams coming in with 2 points. The Fort-Coulonge arena was packed tight with between 200 and 300 anxious spectators in attendance. Xavier Graveline beat the goalie in close midway through the first to give the hometown team the lead to get things started. Both teams were scraping for every inch in yet another extremely close battle. Renfrew was trying to survive and the Comets were looking for some insurance heading into the second. Captain Tyson Ferrigan would give them that insurance late in the second on a shorthanded breakaway goal to put the Comets up 2-0. They then leaned on goaltender Jean-Michel Landry and did what they have done well all season, play gritty lock down defensive hockey. They killed a couple of late penalties and fought off the 6 on 4 attack from Renfrew who had pulled their goalie in the final minutes. The buzzer rang, Landry secured the biggest shutout of his life and the Comets brought home the championship to the delight of the hometown crowd. The Comets were awarded the championship trophy, plaque and medals by league representatives and the players, coaches, friends and fans celebrated together on the ice taking pictures and enjoying the special moment together.”
