The Castors extended their winning streak to five games this weekend after beating the Vankleek Hill Cougars and the South Grenville Rangers in back-to-back games. Even Coach Timothy Kosch didn’t expect his team to have such success this early in the season.
“We never expected to be in such a good situation at this point of the season,” he said, adding that the Castors have had trouble putting together a complete line-up for much of the season. “In the beginning, we were lucky if we had three full offensive lines.”
Kosch said that the pandemic has made it harder for the team to recruit players, yet the team still managed to pull through thanks to a core group of players that have consistently performed beyond expectations.
“All of our players are great two-way players,” he said. “I put a lot of focus on the defensive side of things. You’ll never see one of our guys loafing around the neutral zone while the puck is in our defensive zone.”
A couple of players have really rose and shone so far, including Nicholas Gaumond, Xavier Brunet and Jacob Servant. Coach Kosch had nothing but glowing praise for forward Nikolas Guindon.
“He has been our leading scorer so far,” Kosch said. “He doesn’t have the ideal physique for a hockey player, but he is dedicated to his craft and he plays hard day in and day out”.
Goaltender Corey Camirand has also played exceptionally well this season. The Castors’ goalie has maintained an average of 2.84 goals allowed per game and managed to shutout the Morrisburg Lions and the Almonte Inferno, snatching nine wins and an overtime loss for Clarence in his 13 starts.
“I would be disappointed if we didn’t make it deep into the playoffs this season,” said Kosch. “We have a solid foundation and we still have room to add more players to build around our core group of guys.”
The Castors will be looking to extend their winning streak to six games as they face off against the Almonte Inferno next Sunday at the Clarence Creek Arena.
