Sunday, Jan. 21st - Heady days for the 9th-place Morrisburg Junior C Lions. The team is on a tear and host the Vankleek Hill Cougars on Sunday afternoon at Morrisburg Arena in what should be an old time barn-burner. The last time the two teams squared off the Cougars doubled the Lions at Morrisburg on an 8-4 count. The locals were coming off a lengthy string of losses.

       Flip that one over. The Lions management has shuffled personel. The coaching staff has shuffled lines and defensive pairings. And the players have shuffled attitude. The team is on a four game streak without a loss and along the way they’ve toppled teams at the top. If they can stand the pace for another day (three games over three days) the Cougars are little more than another victim.

       The Lions have moved up to 9th-place in league standings, most recently winning an overtime contest against the South Grenville Rangers on Saturday night at Morrisburg to move two points ahead of their closest opposition. The Cougars, in 7th-place, are coming off a Saturday night loss to the St-Isidore Eagles on an 8-5 count. Game time at Morrisburg is 2:30 p.m., Sunday afternoon.

Edge Inferno 3-2

       On Friday evening at Blackburn Hamlet the Lions grabbed a 2-0 lead after a scoreless opening period and then added a third midway through the final period to defeat the Inferno on a 3-2 score.  Brandon Cameron scored the opening goal on a Spencer Heldens/Aaron Smith set-up for a 1-0 Lion’s lead midway through the second frame. Thomas Ouderkirk doubled the Morrisburg lead with  four minutes remaining in the period when he nailed Inferno’s goaltender Anthony Kervin napping.

       Blackburn finally managed to beat Lion's netminder Dean Gauvreau with just 11 seconds remaining in the middle period on a great 3-way passing play with Jimmy Thomas slipping the puck between the pipes.

       In the final period the Inferno tied the game early when Zakary Rodrigue beat Gauvreau with a shot from the slot.

       Unfortunately for the home team the Lions couldn’t be held down, and the visitors roared back to take the lead, and eventually win the game on a Zach LeBlanc smoker set up by Brian Landry. The Inferno pulled Kervin from the net in favor of the extra man in the last minute but couldn’t manage to beat Gauvreau or the Lion’s defence for the tying score.

       Blackburn served a pair of minor penalties in the game while the Lions were assessed four minors and a major.

  Overtime win over Rangers

       On Saturday evening at Morrisburg Arena the Lions Jacob Kendrick scored in the opening overtime period, closing the game after each team scored single goals in the opening two frames. Third period play went scoreless.

       Kendrick had opened the scoring in the game early in the first when he and Bailey Norman twirled the Rangers defence into a frenzy to beat goaltender Lee Spurgeon. The lead lasted through the midway point until the Rangers Devon Bums whistled a shot over Gauvreau’s pad to tie the contest.

       An almost identical scenario replayed through the middle period when Zach LeBlanc put the puck past Spurgeon’s goal-line with a little help from Brian Landry and Josh Barnes for a 2-1 Lion's lead. That one lasted about as long as the lead in the opening period. The Rangers Zach Hotte scored just past the midway point to bring the count even after 40 minutes.

       Following a scoreless third period the Lions turned up the heat and Kendrick made the shot that dropped the Rangers in their tracks. A 3-2 Lions victory.

       The Lions won the penalty parade in this game also, sitting out four minors while the Rangers were assessed a pair of penalties. The Rangers outshot Morrisburg on a 35-25 count. 

written by:  southdundasinbox.com