Canadiens fight into second, Ice and Tigers jostle for 4th: NEAJBHL

Local Junior B teams returned to the ice for the first games of the new year last weekend.

The Vermilion Tigers got a pair of goals from Connor Roscoe and Colton Van Maarion made 31 saves on route to a 6-1 victory over the Cold Lake Ice on Friday night, in each team’s lone game of the weekend.

Cold Lake and Vermilion are jostling for the fourth spot in the NEAJBHL standings and the Tigers’ victory puts them one point up on the Ice after the weekend.

With roughly a month left in the season, these two teams will play each once more on Jan. 29.

Meanwhile, the St. Paul Jr. Canadiens hosted the Killam Wheat Kings for the second seed in the league and picked up a tight 5-4 win on Saturday night.

Each team traded punches in the first period, as the Wheat Kings got out to three separate one-goal leads in the opening frame as Brandon Zunti scored a natural hat-trick. But the Canadiens answered back each time to be square 3-3 after 20 minutes.

Tysne Stanski and Kurtis Labant scored twomarkers and after keeping a clean sheet in the third period, the Canadiens earned their 18th win of the season to sit one point above Killam in the current standings.

In upcoming league action, the Vermilion Tigers host the Wainwright Bisons on Thursday at 8:00pm.

The Cold Lake Ice and St. Paul Canadiens face off for the final time in the regular season on Friday night at Imperial Oil Place at 8:00pm.

Both teams will head out on the road on Saturday: the Ice will head to Wainwright and the Canadiens to Vermilion. Cold Lake has handed Wainwright two of their four losses this season. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have not lost to the Tigers this season.

Due to COVID-related issues, last weekend’s games involving the Lloyd Bandits were postponed. St. Paul will play a makeup date against them on Jan. 23 and Cold Lake similarly on Feb. 4.

Canadiens Alumni Foundation postpones another event

The St. Paul Canadiens Alumni Foundation and Montreal Canadiens Alumni have decided to postpone their game.

In a press release on Jan. 7, both parties said due to recent travel and gathering restrictions, the Alumni Game event scheduled on Feb. 5 will move to the fall.

“We understand that many people have been associated in planning this event and we’d like to thank everyone involved,” said the release, signed by Rejean Houle, President of Montreal Canadiens Alumni, and Patrick Lamoureux, President of St. Paul Canadiens Alumni.

Earlier, a similar decision to postpone to fall 2022 was made for the Canadiens Indigenous Alumni vs NHL Alumni game.