The Castors didn’t coast their way to victory however. According to Head Coach Tim Kosch, both games were hardly fought contests: “They felt like playoff games. The teams in our division are all fighting for the 1st place in the league right now.”
The Clarence team started their weekend off on the right foot, making a successful comeback and defeating the Rangers 4-3 in South Grenville on February 5. Alex Ross and Jacob Servant each scored a goal and Jordan Croll-Stevensson scored two goals to secure the win for the Castors. Xavier Brunet, Alderic Denis, Nicholas Gaumond and Cayden Martin all scored assists in the victory.
The Castors were hosting the Gatineau-Hull Volant in Clarence on the very next day. After three scoreless periods, Alderic Denis finally scored the game-winning goal for the home team in overtime, assisted by Xavier Brunet. Corey Camirand was perfect in front of the net for the Castors, getting his third shutout of the year to lead his team to victory.
“Our goalie was our best player”, said Tim Kosch, “He played like we hadn’t missed a whole month of action.”
The Castors head coach did concede however that playing as a group after such a long time away from the game was a challenge: “Our guys ran out of breath a little faster than usual, so we had to rotate lines more often.”
The Castors have the best win-loss percentage in the NCJHL right now, but Coach Kosch says that securing the number one seed for the playoffs is not his first priority: “Right now, the number one priority is building chemistry and finding our rhythm for the playoffs. It would be nice for our team to finish first in the league, but it’s not our focus. It’d be a nice bonus.”
The Clarence Castors will again face off against the Volant and the Rangers next weekend, and the outcome of these games will determine the standings for the playoffs.
