Canadiens please the home crowd with a pair of wins

The St. Paul Jr B Canadiens lit it up for the home crowd this weekend; taking a 7-3 win against the Lloydminister Bandits and a 4-1 win over the Killiam Wheat Kings. Head Coach Joe Young was thrilled to see the club messing on the ice.

Versus Lloydminister

Zach Bendall opened scoring for the Canadiens at 3:46 in the first thanks to a helper from Arron Gagne. Isaac Porozni and  Peter Blomberg each put in a goal before the end of 20 minutes, to give the Canadiens a healthy 3-0 lead heading into the second.

“I’ve been finding some good areas and openings. The guys have been doing a good job finding me at the openings. I’m finding the net and it seems to be going in,” Assistant Captain, Zach Bendall says it’s a mixture of good timing and good line mates that has him finding mesh in the first.

The second period saw a few unassisted beauties opening up the period for the Canadiens. First from  Alexander Astasiewicz and second from  Cameron Potter. The Bandits responded to even out the period, but not the game with a goal each from, Quinten Stewart and Jason Busch. It was a 5-2 game after 40 minutes.

The third started with a Bandit’s goal, from Jesse Stansfield at 2 minutes in; but was finished by the Canadiens.  Dyson Roy with help from Alexander Astasiewicz and Arron Gagne, from Keaton Gordon & Jared Malo finished the game with a 7-3 win for the Canadiens.

“I thought it was good in the first 40. We stuck to what we wanted to get out of the game,” Head Coach Joe Young says although the club took the win, he could see where they may have faltered in the third. “The last 20, I thought we got really sloppy. We left a lot of guys open in the slot.” All critiques aside, Young was happy to take the win.

Versus Killiam

Zach Bendall opened scoring at the Clancy Richard again for the Canadiens on Saturday evening, with the help of Bailey Lonsberry & Keaton Gordon. Killiam wouldn’t let the boys get out of the period easy, tying it up before the end of 20 with a goal from Clay Lang.

Dyson Roy got the go-ahead at 8:53 in the second, thanks to help from Kyle Crawford. The Canadiens held the lead into the third, with Crawford assisting on another goal, this one from  Peter Blomberg. Fan Favourite, Dyson Roy secured a healthy win for the Canadiens with a goal at 14:33 in the third, thanks to Braydon Burak for the set-up. The Canadiens got the home crowd on their feet with a 4-1 win.

“It feels good. Especially, with the start we had. We had to crawl back into this [league] a little bit. We’re trending in the right direction,” Coach Young says he is happy to see the Canadiens battling back to their 2016-17 season glory. The club took most of last season on top of the standing with almost no losses under their belts. It’s been a slower start for the club this year, but with two wins over the weekend, there’s excitement building. “We’re starting to play as a team. I’ve said it all along, these guys are ready to win.”

The Canadiens have a short recoup period, before heading to Saddle Lake on Wednesday to take on the Warriors. They will be on the road again Friday for a rematch against the Wheat Kings. You won’t catch the Canadiens at the Clancy Richard again until November 3rd, when the Wainwright Bison are in town. Catch live St. Paul Jr B Canadiens coverage on Lakeland Connect’s Facebook Page, thanks to Xtreme Oilfield Technologies.