Canadiens fall in five games to Wainwright; Game 4 a dramafest with refs and Canadiens

Canadiens forward Arron Gagne and Bisons forward Keenan Scott jockey for position in front of Bisons netminder Austin Prior as the Canadiens try staging a late charge in Game 4.

The St. Paul Canadiens season has come to an end.

The Canadiens were eliminated from the NEAJBHL playoffs when the Wainwright Bisons handed St. Paul a 6-1 loss in Game 5 Saturday.

The Canadiens have four players who will max out their age and retire from wearing the red and white.

Veterans Dyson Roy, Braydon Burak, Bailey Lonsberry, and Nicholas Klassen will move on.

Game 4 ends with drama between ref and Canadiens

The stage was set for the Canadiens to tie the series 2-2 on Friday after the Canadiens gutted out a 4-3 double overtime win the game before.

After the Bisons took a 2-1 lead heading into the second period, all hell broke loose when the Canadiens got into penalty trouble.

While killing off Tison Young’s interference minor, Canadiens goaltender Hayden Lyons lost his stick, and St. Paul pleaded for a goalie interference call. No call came and Carson James scored with Lyons missing his paddle.

The Canadiens were livid. Canadiens coach Joe Young argued the call but was tossed from the game, while Lyons tossed his net off its mooring.

That made the score 3-1 and the Bisons went on the powerplay again due to the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on Lyons.

The Bisons scored again. Then, 15 seconds after play resumed, Lane Wycotte was whistled for boarding.

Sure enough, Kobe Scott scored not a minute later and the Canadiens, who scored first to start the game, were in a deep hole down four goals.

The Canadiens were called for another minor penalty when Lyons broke his goalie stick on the net, still frustrated.

Four straight penalties and the Canadiens felt like they were getting the short end of the stick.

But that’s not where the drama ended.

When the game ended 6-2 for the Bisons, the Canadiens say the referee made a gesture towards the Canadiens bench that looked from onlookers like a golf swing.

The Canadiens coaching staff was incensed.

“I’ve played a lot of hockey and that’s probably the most unprofessional thing I’ve ever seen,” said Canadiens assistant coach Corey Demoissac.

“When the head referee at the end of the game, stands up and looks at your bench and takes a golf swing and says ‘you’re over,’ that’s just uncalled for. Whether you’re getting it or not, that’s just so unprofessional it’s beyond me. I don’t get it.”

Demoissac also touched on the second-period calls.

“Again, questionable calls where our goalie is lying flat on his back and they have a guy over top of him. In today’s game that’s automatic goaltender interference. He didn’t see it that way, we obviously did, it kind of turned the tides for us. But once we got back on track at the end of the second, we really dominated them down low and physically, it was just too late.”

NEAJBHL president, Mark Woytkiw, said there’s nothing to report at this time about the end of game antics due to conflicting reports.

The Bisons advance to the NEAJBHL final and await the winner of the Lac la Biche Clippers and Killam Wheat Kings.

The Clippers lead the series 3-1.

The Bisons are looking for their fourth straight NEAJBHL championship.