CAHL action gets intense at Meredith Centre
By Lou Spuck
Parking in Chelsea is a nightmare.
Just ask Musie Loop Trailblazers captain Neil Parry, who claims that opposing player Ron Sloan was “parallel parked” in front of the net when the tying goal bounced off his shoulder and slid past goaltender Joel-Denis Bellavance.
“The Trailblazers for a second straight week met their goal of achieving league equilibrium by permitting the other opposing force, the Pirates, to strike balance with a tying goal in the last minute,” said a well-spoken Parry following the game.
His Trailblazers drew a 3-3 tie to the Pirates, their second tie in as many games. The captain was definitely disappointed for blowing yet another late lead, but he admitted to being “pretty pumped” to be interviewed by this newspaper.
“Will this be before or after the classifieds section?” he asked with a boyish smile.
Pirates Captain Ron “Fancy Feet” Sloan rejected the claim, noting that science would prove it impossible for him to score from such a position. It’s important to note that Sloan is a teacher.
“I was not parallel parked,” quipped Sloan from the hallway. “I was angle parked, otherwise it wouldn’t have deflected in.”
The tie puts the Pirates in second place, with the Trailblazers falling to third.
The game of the week, though, had to be the tilt between the Mile Hill Maulers and Les Mineurs d’Old Chelsea, which went right to the dying seconds for a thrilling 3-3 tie.
The game began lopsided with Les Mineurs going up 3-0 early off goals from Trevor Pilsen and a highlight-worthy netter from Jodi Bigelow, who wired a “laser beam” top corner. The game looked all but over until the Maulers finally broke through with a goal from Stephane Guertin who roofed a wrist shot over the shoulder of goaltender Pascal Labine with 3:43 remaining in the game.
Still, down two goals, the Maulers pulled their goalie and began applying late-game pressure when Eric Munro deflected a point shot past Labine with under a minute to play to pull within one. With the net still empty, Maulers forward Nelson Kalil managed to jam in a loose puck during a mad scramble in front of the net to tie the game. The Maulers bench exploded in celebration, as they mounted one of the most impressive comebacks in CAHL history.
“That was the best four minutes of my life,” Maulers' captain Nic Hinsperger texted following the game. (We aren’t exactly sure if that text was meant for the paper or someone else). “I am really proud of our team for not giving up and being tenacious right to the final buzzer,” he added.
Friday’s game featured the league-leading Larrimac Loggers who edged the Kingsmere Super Elite 4-2 in an intense battle that had some tempers flaring.
The Loggers went up early when James Brooks’ shot deflected off the chest of Trevor Greenway and past netminder Sebastien Poulin. That was as good as it would get for Greenway, as he had a rough night. The forward took a puck to the face and faced multiple mid-ice collisions that left him looking like a boy among men. He was enraged when he was hit from behind in front of the opposing net. But upon further review, it appears that Greenway tripped over his own stick and then blamed the entire Super Elite squad for his own blunder.
The Loggers didn’t need him in fine form anyway, as Will Desjardin netted a pair of sniper-worthy goals to seal the win for the lumberjacks. The win puts the Loggers in sole possession of first place with a 2-0-0 record.
Can Mineurs captain Brad Stewart lead his team to its first win of the year? Will the dirty Pirates wreck the Loggers’ perfect record? Tune in next week to read up on all your CAHL action.