CCHL This Week

By: Jeff Maguire

The incredibly close race in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) got even tighter on the weekend and now Smiths Falls Bears are looking over their shoulders at the hard charging Carleton Place Canadians.

Bears’ loss to the suddenly soaring Hawkesbury Hawks last Tuesday allowed Canadians, who defeated Cumberland Grads the same night, to gain ground. A sweep of last place Kemptville 73’s on the weekend moved Carleton Place (20-9-1-0) to 41 points, just two behind arch rival Smiths Falls. Bears were idle Sunday.

After a slow start to the campaign Hawks have improved markedly and are now a factor in one of the best races in memory in the more than 50-year-old CCHL. Hawkesbury scored back-to-back shootout victories over Robinson Division rival Brockville Braves on the weekend. The wins were the fifth and sixth in 10 games for Hawkesbury.

With a pair of shootout defeats to Kanata Stallions during the same period Hawks have now earned 14 points from 10 outings. More important the weekend triumphs allowed them to leapfrog Brockville and take over fourth place in the Robinson Division. Hawks now have 28 points to Braves 27. They also hold a game in hand on their nearest rival.

As for the overall standings in the league, it couldn’t be much tighter!

Nepean Raiders, Ottawa Junior Senators and Pembroke Lumber Kings all won their games Sunday. As a result Raiders and Sens are deadlocked atop the Yzerman Division with 38 points apiece. Lumber Kings are just a point behind while Kanata, who was idle Sunday, is two back of the co-leaders.

A quick check of the overall standings shows there is just a seven-point gap between first place Smiths Falls and seventh place Cornwall Colts. Eighth place Hawkesbury is still well off the pace, trailing Cornwall by eight points and standing 15 behind Bears.

Admittedly the schedule has favoured Carleton Place recently with eight of their last 11 games against teams with losing records.

Canadians’ head coach Jason Clarke however says every point earned in the CCHL is a valuable one this season.

“We won two games on the weekend (against last place Kemptville) we had to win.

“But (Jacob) Tugnutt was incredible in goal for Kemptville on Friday. Both teams played hard,” he says.

Carleton Place emerged with a 3-1 victory.

“This is the best competition in the league that I can remember,” Clarke observes.

He coached Junior Senators for several seasons before moving back to his hometown of Carleton Place to coach the former Carleton Place Legion Kings (now Almonte Thunder) for three successful seasons in Junior B. Included were back-to-back Valley Division titles in 2008 and 2009. That fall (2009) Clarke emerged as head coach, general manager and owner of the expansion Canadians, the most recent addition to the 12-team CCHL.

Now in their fourth campaign Carleton Place is battling for the overall league lead.

“Obviously there is a long way to go. But we have been playing quite well,” Clarke said Monday.

“We’re getting good crowds, especially on the weekend and that is good for us.”

Canadians have improved their previously indifferent home mark to a solid 9-4-1-0. They own the best road record in the CCHL at 11-5 following Sunday’s win in Kemptville. Ottawa and Kanata have both won 10 times away from home.

The Carleton Place bench boss continues to make moves he hopes will strength his team. Last week was a particularly busy one for Clarke the general manager. Gone are goalie Tony Kujava, who started the campaign as the club’s No. 1 puck stopper, along with veteran defenceman Michael Maciag and little used right winger Tony Butcher.

In is net minder Brendan O’Neill, acquired from Kingston Voyageurs of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and right winger Garrett Moore picked up from Bay State Breakers of the Eastern Junior Hockey League based in Rockland, Massachusetts.

O’Neill won both his starts last week and Moore has two points in as many games including a goal in Sunday’s win at Kemptville.

“Obviously we are going to do whatever we can to strengthen our team. It’s going to be a long and difficult second half of the season,” Clarke says.

Hawkesbury GM Ian Henderson has also been tweaking his club in an effort to overcome a surprisingly slow start to the campaign. Monday he said things are starting to come together nicely.

“We’ve made a few small changes and it has definitely helped.

“No one expected the (poor) start we had. But the guys are pulling together. I think we are starting to gel.”

It was a busy week in the CCHL with 16 games played. Four teams, Smiths Falls, Cornwall, Kanata and Gloucester, have reached the halfway mark in their schedules

Sunday summaries

Carleton Place 9 – Kemptville 2:Canadians ran roughshod over the rapidly sinking 73’s in Kemptville Sunday night and in the process closed to within two points of idle Smiths Falls Bears in the overall standings. Carleton Place, who made some key personnel changes last week, totally dominated the last place 73’s outshooting them 40-16 and holding period leads of 4-2 and 7-2. The result gave Canadians a sweep of their weekend series with Kemptville and they have won eight of their last 10 games. Sophomore left winger Stephen Baylis has emerged as one of the top offensive threats for Carleton Place. Sunday he led the way with a hat trick and one assist giving him 21 points in 28 appearances. Amazingly, all three of his goals came while Carleton Place was shorthanded. Third year winger Anthony McVeigh had a goal and three assists while rookie defenceman Kelly Summers, a major addition to Canadians’ line-up this season, scored his sixth goal and set up a pair. Blueliner Larry Smith chipped in with three set-ups while forward Luke Edwards scored once and assisted on another. Both of Kemptville’s tallies came on powerplay opportunities with team scoring leaders Lucas Gonu and Blaine Byron the goal-getters. Justin Laforest only played the first period in goal but he got the win. He was relieved by newcomer Brendan O’Neill for the final 40 minutes. Carleton Place picked up 13 of the game’s 21 penalties.

Nepean 4 – Gloucester 3 (OT):Defenceman Stephan Beauvais triggered his second goal of the season just 59 seconds into overtime to give Raiders a win that kept them tied with Ottawa atop the Yzerman Division standings. The loss at Nepean Sportsplex Sunday afternoon was a heartbreaking one for Rangers, the fifth place side in the Yzerman. They outshot their hosts 43-32 but were stymied by the goaltending of Ryan Mulder who made 40 stops to earn first star honours. Rangers trailed 3-2 going into the third period but team scoring leader Alexandre Boivin triggered his ninth of the campaign with 6:15 remaining in regulation to force the extra period and earn his club one point. Dalen Hedges, the third leading scorer in the CCHL, had the only goal of the opening period. In the middle period Hedges set up newcomer Mitchell Herlihey for a pair of markers, the first goals for the centre who was playing just his ninth game for the club. Patrick White with his ninth and Christian Leger with a shorthanded marker struck for Gloucester in the second period. Dylan BrindAmour made 28 saves but suffered his second consecutive loss since joining Rangers. The visitors were assessed 13 of the game’s 21 penalties but Nepean was only able to take advantage once on nine powerplay opportunities.

Ottawa 3 – Cornwall 2:Junior Senators completed a weekend sweep of Robinson Division Cornwall edging Colts in front of nearly 500 Cornwall fans Sunday afternoon. It was Ottawa’s third win of the week and left them in a first place tie with Nepean in the Yzerman loop. The clubs traded two goals apiece in the opening period. But it was right winger Hunter Racine’s powerplay strike at 14:31 of the second that proved to be the difference. The final frame was scoreless and Sens outshot Colts 31-26. Michael Evelyn and Eric Witzel scored back-to-back in the opening stanza for Ottawa while Michael Pontarelli with his 19th and Trent Durocher replied for Cornwall. With the setback the third place Colts fell five points behind Carleton Place in the Robinson standings. Racine and Witzel each had assists to lead the Ottawa offence. Veteran goalie Charlie Millen made 24 saves to improve his record to 12-6. Jordan Piccolino suffered his second loss in as many nights and saw his record dip to an even 9-9. There were 15 penalties called, eight of those going to the home team. Cornwall defenceman Jason Suvak and Ottawa winger Thierry Gibeault went toe-to-toe late in the second period. Both players were handed fighting majors and the accompanying game misconduct penalties.

Pembroke 6 – Cumberland 3:In an Yzerman Division contest Sunday night the host Lumber Kings had an easy time with last place Cumberland.  They outshot the Navan-based Grads by a 2-1 margin (52-26) and held interval leads of 3-0 and 4-1. As a result of their victory Pembroke stayed one point behind Yzerman co-leaders Nepean and Ottawa. Right winger Timmy Moore, who has found his scoring touch of late, led the winners with two goals. Pembroke scoring leader Ben Dalpe had a goal and one assist while single tallies came off the sticks of Brendan McGuire, Keegan Harper (during a first period powerplay) and Liam Biard. For the fading Grads centre Colin Kruse scored twice while Matt Allan had the other. Andy Munroe improved his record to 11-6 making 23 saves. Overworked Grads’ net minder Devan Tremblay kicked out 46 shots and saw his record slip to 5-13. Cumberland took eight of 12 minor penalties. Moore, Dalpe and Grads’ Kruse were the game stars.   

Hawkesbury 5 – Brockville 4 (SO):The suddenly soaring Hawks continued their ascent Sunday night with a hard fought triumph on home ice. Hawkesbury goalie Carmine Guerriero was the hero turning aside 41 shots and totally frustrating the visitors in the process. Braves held a big 45-28 advantage in scoring chances but simply couldn’t beat the veteran Guerriero often enough. Surprisingly Hawks’ goaltender did not figure in the three star selection! It was a tough weekend for Brockville who lost a home and home to Hawkesbury, both in shootouts. With the wins, their fifth and sixth in 10 games, Hawks slipped past Braves and into fourth place in the Robinson Division. Guerriero and Brockville puck stopper Matthew Jenkins both shone during the shootout. The teams sent nine shooters to the line with the home team emerging 2-1 winners and pocketing two big points. Hawkesbury goal scoring leader Pietro Antonelli led the winners with a regulation time hat trick, giving him 11 tallies. Hawks’ top scorer Brandon Bussey netted his eighth goal and added two assists to reach 29 points. Forward Hayden Hulton netted twice for Braves including the tying goal early in the third period. Brockville ace Ben Blasko unleashed his 17th to remain second in the league scoring race with 47 points. Defenceman Zach Todd scored during a third period powerplay. His was among three Braves’ goals in a span of less than two minutes that earned the visitors one point.   

Ottawa 6 – Cornwall 5 (SO):Junior Senators moved into the pack atop the Yzerman Division by winning in a shootout against one of the hottest teams in the league, Cornwall Colts. Centre Ryan Collins led the winners with two goals and an assist in Saturday’s contest at Jim Durrell Recreation Complex. Veteran forward Ben Robillard took over the Ottawa scoring lead with a goal and two assists. He also netted the only shootout marker to give his team the bonus point. The triumph left Ottawa (18-9-1-0) with 37 points, the same total as Nepean and Kanata. Sens and Raiders held three games in hand on Kanata however. Ottawa dominated outshooting the visitors 39-23. But Colts got strong net minding from Jordan Piccolino who kept them in the game. Cornwall led 2-0 and 3-2 at the intervals and early in the third period they took a 4-2 lead. Junior Sens counted three times in the final regulation period including a pair of powerplay markers to force overtime. The mandatory five minute period was scoreless but in the shootout Robillard was the only player among eight shooters to find the mark. Shootout goals don’t count in the league statistics however! Winger Greg Jansz fired goal No. 11 and he set up another for Senators. Cornwall scoring leader Roman Ammirato scored twice with singles going to Trent Durocher, Michael Pontarelli and Jake Martin. Colts’ defenceman Kevin Sarrazin was ejected for fighting in the second period.

Friday action

Smiths Falls 3 – Pembroke 1: Bears continue to show they are the team to beat in the CCHL. Friday night they got a 35 save performance from Patrick Martin and a pair of goals from high scoring left winger Yannick Crete on the way to a win over Lumber Kings. The triumph kept Smiths Falls four points ahead of Carleton Place in the Robinson Division and overall standings. Crete moved to 18 goals and an even 40 points good for fourth place on the league chart. Pembroke held CCHL scoring leader Chris Maniccia pointless, but he remained 11 points clear at the top of the parade. The first period was scoreless thanks mainly to Martin who made 18 saves. Bears’ Connor McLaren opened scoring with his 15th early in the second and Kings’ centre Tyler Gaudet, with his seventh, tied it just past the midway mark.  With 4:03 left in the middle stanza Crete scored what proved to be the game winner. He added a shorthanded goal at 12:17 of the third. Defenceman Tyler Akeson, the highest scoring blueliner in the league, set up two giving him 32 points in 30 games. Fourteen of the game’s 22 penalties came during an unfriendly third period. Bears have won all three meetings with Pembroke this season. A large Smiths Falls crowd of 717 took in the action.

Carleton Place 3 – Kemptville 1:Canadians stayed hot on the heels of leaders Smiths Falls, scoring three times in the second period Friday to overcome the strong goaltending of Kemptville’s Jacob Tugnutt. He made 43 saves as Carleton Place dominated territorially, outshooting the last place 73’s 46-22. It was still a much better performance for struggling Kemptville who, 24 hours earlier, succumbed to Cornwall 11-1. But 73’s suffered their eighth setback in 10 games to remain rooted to the bottom of the Robinson and overall standings. Canadians (19-9-1-0) remained four points back of Bears with two games in hand. Carleton Place goal scoring leader Kevin Dufour netted twice giving him 16 and lifting him past teammate Luke Edwards into first place on the team chart with 29 points. Edwards triggered his 12th of the campaign to move to 28 points. Veteran defenceman Elias Ghantous chipped in with two assists. Kemptville rookie Jacob Smith scored his first of the season on a powerplay with nine seconds left in the first to give the visitors the early lead. Dufour equalized on a Carleton Place powerplay at 1:31 of the middle frame and the home team added two more in the period. The third was scoreless. Newly acquired Brendan O’Neill won his second straight game in Canadians’ cage. Forward Stephen Baylis of Carleton Place and Kemptville winger Ben St. Marseille were ejected for fighting early in the final frame.

Nepean 5 – Gloucester 2:Raiders rebounded from their worst defeat in recent memory two nights earlier, downing Yzerman Division rival Gloucester Friday and taking back first place in the division in the process. Line mates Dalen Hedges and Keenan Hodgson led the attack with two goals and two assists apiece. Hedges stayed in third place in league scoring with 43 points. Rangers, who lost their third straight and seventh in 10 starts, led 1-0 after 20 minutes on Stevie Ray Adams eight marker. Hodgson, with his 12th, tied it early in the second and newcomer Brandon Belding, with his first goal and first point for Raiders, gave Raiders the lead. Matt Rosebrook with his 19th goal in 23 games for Gloucester tied it early in the third. But two strikes by Hedges, three minutes and 50 seconds apart, clinched it for the visitors. Hodgson wrapped it up with the game’s only powerplay goal at 15:22 of the third. Raiders held a slight 44-43 shots advantage. Matt Zawadzki bounced back from a miserable Wednesday performance to win his 12th game in goal against eight losses. Veteran net minder Dylan BrindAmour, playing his first game since being acquired by Gloucester, suffered the loss. Rangers were a listless 0-7 on the powerplay.

Kanata 6 – Cumberland 5 (SO):The visiting Stallions moved into a points tie with Nepean atop the Yzerman standings by winning their sixth shootout of the campaign. Grads suffered their seventh straight loss. Even with the single point they remain last in their division and 11th overall in the 12 team CCHL. It was a competitive contest with Kanata holding period leads of 2-1 and 3-2. After Cumberland’s Eric Clitsome tied it just 59 seconds into the third, Stallions struck for two goals and looked to be in the driver’s seat. But just 10 seconds after Devin Fullam made it 5-3 for Kanata it was Grads’ Colin Kruse making it close. Five minutes later Clitsome set up defenceman David Higgs who deposited the tying goal behind Kanata net minder Brayden St-Germain. The five minute overtime was scoreless and in the shootout phase three players from each side went to the line. Brandon Petrie of Stallions was the only goal scorer as the visitors secured the bonus point. Petrie also had a goal and an assist during regulation time with Colin Horton, Braedan Moffatt and Kanata scoring leader Derian Plouffe also beating Cumberland goalie Devan Tremblay. Clitsome had a three point game for Grads with Chris King and Matthew Morin also scoring for the home side. There were just six minor penalties, four of which went to the visitors. Cumberland was 0-4 with the man advantage.

Hawkesbury 2 – Brockville 1 (SO):Hawks continue to demonstrate they are on the comeback trail. After falling behind early they tied the game and then outscored Braves 2-1 in the shootout phase to claim two important points. They moved level with Brockville in the battle for fourth place in the Robinson Division. Each team had 26 points following Friday’s head-to-head clash played in front of 842 Brockville fans. Braves’ centre Griffen Molino had a second period tally. Hawks’ Antonio Roumeliotis netted his ninth with four minutes, 12 seconds remaining to send the contest to extra time. Hawkesbury out shot Brockville 37-29 with Carmine Guerriero, who returned from injury, picking up his eighth win against a dozen setbacks. Matthew Jenkins was the losing puck stopper despite making 35 stops. There were only nine penalties in the contest, five going to Brockville. Braves’ tough guy Ryan Walter (he has 55 penalty minutes and no points in 24 games so far this season) was tossed for fighting along with Hawkesbury defenceman Holden Anderson early in the third period. Jenkins was the game’s first star while his opposite number Guerriero got the nod for third place on the ballot!   

Early week games

Cornwall 11 – Kemptville 1:It didn’t take Colts long to grab the spotlight as the team with the most one-sided win in the league this season. Cornwall won by a 10-goal margin over the last place 73’s who are struggling badly. Colts’ ran rampant just 24 hours after Ottawa embarrassed Nepean 8-0. Cornwall led 3-0 and 5-1 at the intermissions Thursday and they poured in six more goals in the third. Right winger Michael Pontarelli and centre Jake Martin each had hat tricks. Pontarelli moved to 36 points, one behind team leader Marly Quince who rang up four assists. For Martin they were his first goals of the campaign. Alexandre Gendron fired a pair and five other Colts had multiple point games in the rout. Kemptville winger Brett Varrin netted his seventh in period two. Cornwall totally dominated outshooting the visitors 55-31. Jordan Piccolino improved his record to 9-7 making 30 saves. Kemptville goalie Billy Cooper withstood the entire onslaught, turning aside 44 shots. His record dipped to 4-13. Not surprisingly tempers flared during the one-sided contest. There were 28 penalties called, 15 going to 73’s. Two players from each side were banished for fighting. Kemptville defenceman Cody Hendsbee picked up two fighting majors and Cornwall’s Trent Durocher was also tossed. Their tussle came at the final whistle meaning both will miss their team’s next games.

Ottawa 8 – Nepean 0:Junior Senators shocked Raiders Wednesday, sending the defending champions to the most one-sided loss in the league this season to date. Charlie Millen, who has been red-hot of late, earned the third shutout in five games for Ottawa. Millen, the son of former NHL goalie Greg Millen, rang up all three. The 19-year-old Peterborough native made 30 saves to silence the usually potent Nepean offence. Raiders’ veteran net minder Matt Zawadzki started but was lifted early in the third period after the fifth Sens’ goal. He faced 31 shots. His replacement Ryan Mulder quickly yielded three more goals in a span of just less than six minutes. Ottawa led 1-0 and 3-0 at the intervals before putting it away with five in the third period. The offence was shared with eight different players scoring. Ryan Collins, Marc Shanks and Michael Evelyn had a goal and one assist each. Light scoring Joey Champigny and Luc Deschamps contributed three assists apiece. Champigny and Raiders’ centre Keenan Hodgson were banished for fighting early in the third. There were 11 penalties in total, seven going to visiting Nepean. Hunter Racine had the only powerplay goal early in the final frame. Less than 100 people were in the stands to watch the one-sided affair, sparring Raiders’ blushes. The result left three teams, including Sens and Raiders, a single point behind first place Pembroke in the division. 

Hawkesbury 4 – Smiths Falls 3: After a listless start to the campaign the improving Hawks are slowly but surely crawling out of the deep nest they created for themselves. It was a Tuesday night in which all three Robinson Division teams within range of leaders Smiths Falls won. For Hawkesbury it was their fifth win in 10 games, but four of those triumphs have come against the league elite. This time Bears were the victims, falling at home for only the fourth time in 16 outings. A powerplay goal by defenceman Holden Anderson at 13:01 of the third period broke a 3-3 deadlock and propelled Hawkesbury to a vital victory. Anderson also assisted on Carl Faucher’s first period powerplay strike giving him 20 points in 25 appearances. Goalie Brock Crossthwaite played a big role in Hawks’ win, kicking out 33 shots as the home team led the shots parade 36-29. Three third period counters were the difference for Hawkesbury with Stefano Momesso and Antonios Roumeliotis their other goal scorers. Little used winger Brett Costello had his first goal for Smiths Falls and one assists, as did defenceman Patrick Sexton. The goal was Costello’s first in a Smiths Falls’ uniform. Yannick Crete fired his 16th for Bears while league scoring leader Chris Maniccia was held to one assist. Jimmy Howe was the losing net minder. Hawks were assessed seven of the game’s 12 penalties. Hawkesbury had two powerplay strikes while Bears were an anemic 0-6 with the man advantage.

Carleton Place 7 – Cumberland 3:A strange quirk in the CCHL schedule saw Canadians and Grads finish their five game season series on Nov. 20, before the season is half over. Carleton Place won all five games including four victories over Cumberland in their last nine games. The win, combined with Smiths Falls’ home ice loss to Hawkesbury, moved Carleton Place within four points of the league leaders. They held two games in hand on Bears after play Tuesday. Devan Tremblay kept the home team at bay for two periods and as a result of his strong play Grads nursed a 2-1 lead into the third. Canadians then exploded for six goals, peppering Tremblay with 18 shots in the period. The Edwards brothers had a big night. Luke triggered a hat trick, including a pair of powerplay tallies and added one assist. Older brother and line mate Brock netted once and set up four. Alex Frere, veteran forward Luke Martin and defenceman Kelly Summers on a late game powerplay were the other scorers for Carleton Place. Matt Allan and Travis Douglas gave Grads the early advantage with Chris King scoring the only third period goal for Cumberland. Canadians were an efficient three for four on the powerplay. Newcomer Brendan O’Neill made his first start in the Carleton Place cage a winning one. He stopped 23 shots. Canadians out chanced the visitors by a huge 47-26 margin.    

Cornwall 5 – Kanata 3: The improving Colts won their third in a row to stay in the race for first place in what is now a highly competitive Robinson Division. Stallions dropped two important points in their battle to stay with the leaders in a tight tussle in the Yzerman loop. Stallions’ four division rivals all hold games in hand. In fact Nepean and Ottawa had played four fewer games than Kanata following play Tuesday while leaders Pembroke held two in hand. Cornwall scoring leaders Marly Quince and Michael Pontarelli each netted twice and set up another to lead the offence. Quince moved into second place in the CCHL in goals with 21. The visitors out shot Kanata 35-24 with Brandon Howes adding an insurance goal for Cornwall just past the midway mark of period three. Stallions got a goal in each period with defenceman and team captain Curtis Watson firing a pair, including one during a powerplay early in the third that temporarily made it a 4-3 game. Watson moved to six goals and 22 points in 30 games. Fabian Walsh had the other Kanata marker. Jordan Piccolino was the winning goalie making 21 stops while veteran Brandon Lane suffered the loss. There were just five minor penalties called in the fast game which took only an hour, 55 minutes to play. Three of the infractions went to the visitors and each side had one powerplay tally.

 A total of 14 games are scheduled in the league this week from Tuesday to Sunday. There will be five games each Friday night and Sunday. 

Jeff Maguire is a career journalist based in Carleton Place. He has covered junior hockey in Ontario for 41 years. Jeff’s report will appear on the CCHL website every Monday throughout the season. He can be reached by e-mail at: jeffrey.maguire@rogers.com