The Castors were hosting the Volant in Clarence last Saturday to kick off the second round of the playoffs in the NCJHL. The visiting team managed to take a 2-1 lead after one period of play, but the Castors scored three unanswered goals in the second period before adding another in the third to take the first game 5-2.
Nicholas Gaumond scored a hat-trick for the home team, Jacob Servant scored a goal and notched three assists, Zachary Payer scored the other goal, Alderic Denis had two helpers and Ryan Carroll, Tyler Cummins and Caleb Smith each scored an assist in the victory.
The Castors then headed to Gatineau for game two on Sunday. This time, they took a two-goal lead after one period, and managed to hold on to their lead to win 3-0.
Clarence Creek goaltender Corey Camirand was perfect in front of the net and notched his second shutout of the post-season to lead his team to victory. Alderic Denis and Cayden Martin both scored a goal and a helper, Zachary Payer scored the other goal, and Xavier Brunet Jaddus Savoie had an assist apiece.
The Castors are now undefeated in their last 16 games, including the 11-game winning streak they had to close out the regular season. After sweeping the Metcalfe Jets in the first round and winning the first two games of a best-of-seven series against the Volant, things couldn’t be going better for the Clarence Creek hockey team.
“This is as good as we could have hoped for,” said Castors’ Head Coach Tim Kosch, “We’re definitely heading in the right direction. We dominated the league during the regular season, and now we’re dominating the post-season, so that’s very encouraging for our guys.”
The Castors’ coach owes his team’s success to solid defensive play and an ability to capitalize on scoring chances: “We’re playing really solid defensively, and that’s the secret to our success. Even in the first game, the two goals they had were kind of lucky goals. On the first goal, their shot hit one of our guys before going in, and the second one was just a bad turnover on our part, right in front of the net. But we’re playing really well, and it seems like every shot Nicholas Gaumond’s putting up right now is finding the back of the net.”
Game Three will be played in Clarence Creek at 8 p.m. on Saturday, and Coach Kosch hopes that people will come by and support their local team: “It’s kind of disappointing that we’re playing so well but we can’t seem to draw a good crowd to our home games. We’re undefeated at home this year, and we’re playing at such a high level that it would be nice if more people came to our games to show us support.”
