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Canadiens take first win of the season at home

The puck dropped on a new season for the St. Paul Jr. B Canadiens on Friday night, at the Clancy Richard Arena. The home team came out strong on Friday, scoring the first two goals of the season in the first period.
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The puck dropped on a new season for the St. Paul Jr. B Canadiens on Friday night, at the Clancy Richard Arena.

The home team came out strong on Friday, scoring the first two goals of the season in the first period. Orrie Wood netted the first, while Brayden Goulet found the net for the second goal. The Cold Lake Ice closed off scoring in the first period with their own goal.

In the second, the Canadiens would again push hard. With Wood getting his second goal of the night, and captain Dyson Roy getting his first goal of the season, making the score 4-1. Cold Lake would keep the pressure on, with a goal of their own, but Canadiens' Braydon Burak would also find the net.

Another Cold Lake goal would put the score at 5-3 heading into the last period.

Halfway into the third period, Roy would solidify the Canadiens' win with a final goal, and a score of 6-3.

"Our core is pretty much the same as last season, which will help us for sure," said Roy, when speaking about the 2018-19 season. Overall, he felt the first weekend of play went good.

"We played well against Cold Lake. Our special teams did really well on Friday night," said Roy.

Coach Joe Young echoed those sentiments, saying "We couldn't ask for anything better with our home opener."

The next night, the Canadiens took to the road and faced off against last year's top team, the Wainwright Bisons, losing by a score of 5-3.

"Wainwright was a fast and physical team as usual, but I feel like we matched their speed and physicality quite well," said Roy." Although we weren’t happy with the loss, it was nice to prove that we can compete with anybody this year."

Wainwright scored two goals in the first period, putting St. Paul behind early on. A third goal in the second period put the Canadiens down 3-0. But, the second period would be full of action, with Burak and Goulet each getting a goal for the Canadiens.

Heading into the third, the score was 5-2. The Canadiens netted a goal on the power play goal, credited to Bailey Lonsberry, but it wouldn't be enough, and the game would end 5-3.

While the Canadiens may have lost on the ice, Young said he was impressed that his team wasn't satisfied with their effort.

"What impressed me most was that guys were mad that we lost. That just shows the leadership we have in the room," said Young. " You're there to win a hockey game."'

He acknowledged that the Canadiens knew what they were up against, and said he felt it was a good team effort on Saturday night.

Canadiens' new goalie Ben Campbell-Matkea, who comes to St. Paul from Beaumont, played in net both games. Young said he thought Campbell-Matkea did well, and noted he's a young player, making the jump from minor hockey to Jr. B.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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