Ron Valentine: OJHL Featured Writer
The only thing settled going into Wednesday morning’s game between the Toronto Patriots and the College Francais de Longueuil game was that the Greater Sudbury Cubs would not be progressing at the Centennial Cup from that Division.. The Patriots and the College entered the contest with 2-1 records and the Truro Bearcats, also 2-1, were set to play the Flin Flon Bombers (1-2) in the final game in the division’s round robin. To say this was an important matchup for the Patriots would be putting it lightly. A win coupled with a OT win or loss for the Bearcats would give them first place in the Division and an automatic bye to the semifinal.
Leading point scorers entering the game for the Patriots were Cole Cooksey with 4 goals and 8 points, followed by Luciano Bruno and blueliner Luke Howard with 5 points and Tommy Karmiris and Bodhi Ryan with 4 each. For the College, Gabriel Provencher, Isaiah Parent and Jayden Rousseau had 2 points each.
For the Patriots Bruno had to sit this one out with defencemen Anthony Bonavota and Gabriel Schmidt coming into the lineup. Trey Caracciolo was the goalkeeper of record. The College went with the same lineup from their previous game where they defeated the Cubs 3-1. Goalie Mathis Lacroix-Goulet had allowed just one goal in each of the team’s three games.
The opening quintet for the Patriots were Luke Howard on defence along with Liam Longo. Up front Tate Collins centred Alex Hebblethwaite and team captain Anthony Giacalone. For the College Gabriel L’Etoile and Emile Dubois started on the blueline with a forward line of Provencher, Rousseau and Parent.
On the game’s first powerplay Mathieu Derome was in close for a tap-in of a deflection to give Longueuil the 1-0 advantage, the goal came just past the halfway mark of the first period. The Patriots would get that back on a sharp-angled shot from Noah Lodoen, his first goal of the round robin. Caracciolo was the busier ‘keeper in the opening stanza stopping 14 shots, several of the very difficult kind while Lacroix-Goulet kicked out nine.
The College were quick to regain their lead in period two when Rousseau scored with a wrist shot coming off the left wing, 38 seconds had elapsed. Their third goal came from the right side with Samuel Beaulieu blasting one home and that one came at the minute and a half mark. The woes continued for Toronto with another powerplay marker by the College, a one-timer from Yohan Noiseux. 4-1 Longueuil with almost six minutes gone in the period. The dominance of the College would continue with goal number five with Parent connecting and the period would end 5-1 in favour of the LHJjAAAQ squad. Shots on goal, Longueuil 16 Toronto 11.
At the 54-second mark of the third period the Patriots scored and after a long review it counted and credited to Cole Cooksey and then Hebblethwaite wristed home a shot from just inside the blueline and all of a sudden it’s a 5-3 game with the two goals coming in a 57-second span but a defensive giveaway gifted the College with their sixth courtesy Derome, his second of the game to restore their three-goal lead. A great individual effort from Cooksey, shorthanded, made it 6-4 with time running out on the Patriots. It was his sixth goal of the competition. Toronto pulled the goalie with two minutes left but the College held and Emile Dubois scored for the 7-4 win.
The three teams to advance from Division A are the MHL’s Niverville Nighthawks, the AJHL’s Canmore Eagles and the host Summerside Western Capitals. The final position of the graduates from Division B will not be known until after the final game of the round robin between the MHL’s Truro Bearcats and the SJHL’s Flin Flon Bombers but the only sure way for the Patriots to advance is with a Truro victory.
GM Blake Ricci: “The College played a fast game with good transition and they deserved the win. Everyone is finding the competition a grind but kudos to the players. They have been doing everything they can on and off the ice, tand have been getting themselves prepared though the results in the last couple of games have obviously not been what we wanted.”
Head Coach Vince Bellissimo “The College played a very strong second period and we did not. We have to get back to playing a 60-minute game. It’s all about a positive mentality at this stage and as a coach that’s my priority now other than making a few adjustments as the game goes on. WE were more like the real Patriots’ in the third period and that’s where we need to be.”
Longueuil Head coach Jonathan Castonguay; “We played well in our three games but coming in we talked about getting into the dirty areas and increasing our offensive output and we did that today. We are all on the same page and that’s great from my point of view.” Castonguay is in his first season behind the College bench after two seasons as assistant with the Valleyfield Braves.
