The Vankleek Hill Cougars will face the Gatineau Hull-Volant in the NCJHL finals after defeating the Morrisburg Lions in the semi-finals in five games.
« The guys played for sixty minutes every game, » said Cougars head coach Nicolas Pharand. “That’s what it took because it wasn’t a bad team we were facing.”
Gatineau will be a tough task for the Cougars, as they finished the regular season at the top of the standings with just three losses. However, after defeating the South Grenville Rangers in four games, Gatineau struggled in their semi-final series against the Cumberland Castors, only winning after seven games.
« I think we’re ready to face them, » said Pharand.
The Cougars obtained their fourth win of the series in Morrisburg on Friday, March 15.
Morrisburg’s captain Justice Brownlee was first on the scoresheet after 10 minutes of play, putting his team ahead by one, but Andy Lightle-Blais put the Cougars back on level ice before the end of the period.
Determined to keep his team in the series., Brownlee scored his second of the game shorthanded, ten minutes into the second period.
Despite Brownlee’s efforts, everything fell apart for Morrisburg at the end of the second when Mikael Bigras put the puck in the back of the net twice in just over a minute to give the Cougars the lead ahead of the break.
Malcolm Séguin scored with three minutes left to the third period to put the game out of reach of Morrisburg. Jérémy Marcotte added on to the Cougar’s tally with two minutes left, making the final score 5-2.
The first game of the series will be Friday March 22, at 7:30 p.m. at Centre Slush Puppie in Gatineau. The Cougars will host their first home game on Saturday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Vankleek Hill.
