CARLETON PLACE
- The Carleton Place
Jr. A Canadians were the big ticket draw in town last weekend. About 742 fans
packed the Carleton Place Arena to watch their boys shut out the Smiths Falls
Bears 6-0, on Sept. 19.
The home opener was a full-day event, kicking off with a
tailgate party in front of the arena in the afternoon. There was a free
barbecue, a big street hockey game and the unveiling of the team’s mascot –
Bruce the Moose. The Barking Spiders provided the live entertainment and fans
had a chance to meet the players before they laced up.
Coach Jason Clarke said the tailgate was a huge success
thanks to the hard work of Ian McNeely and Rick Schnaufer.
“The turnout was fantastic,” he said.
CARLETON PLACE 6 SMITHS FALLS
0
The Canadians had a lively start to their home opener,
scoring two quick goals in under four minutes of the first period. Zach Farris
and Ryan Lowe tallied those points. Just past the halfway mark, Zach Farris
scored his second goal of the night at 11:47.
“The boys came out hard and won all the puck battles and
foot races,” said Clarke.
The fast paced action resumed in the second period with
goals from Theo Hannah at 14:42 and Ryan Lowe notching his second of the game
at 17:32. The third period was a little quieter on the offensive end with the
lone goal coming from Jason McCarthy at 13:56.
Goalie Morgan Barr made 21 saves for the win. The Canadians
chased Smiths Falls starting goaltender Trevor Wilson
out of the net after scoring four goals on 20 shots. They weren’t much kinder to
the Bears’ backup, George Grammenopoulis, scoring two goals on 10 shots.
“We won all the little battles,” said Clarke.
Ryan Lowe, Zach Farris and Morgan Barr were named the stars
of the game.
GLOUCESTER
5
CARLETON PLACE 1
Fresh off their big win, the Canadians didn’t bring the same
energy to the Sept. 20 game against the Gloucester Rangers, in Gloucester.
“The boys were still thinking about the Saturday win and
they weren’t mentally prepared,” Clarke said.
“We lost every puck battle and foot race.”
The first period passed without either team registering a point. Canadians
goaltender Scott Shackell faced 13 shots on net while Carleton Place only had three shots on
goal.
The Canadians led off scoring in the second period with a
power play goal from Robbie Lepine at 1:20. However Gloucester took the reins near the end of the
period scoring at 16:03 and 18:18.
The Rangers sealed their win in the third period with three
goals from separate players.
Clarke said the game was kept close by Shackell’s
performance.
“If it were not for the goalie, it would have been a lot
worse,” he said.
Shackell faced 39 shots in total, while the Canadians had 24
shots on net.
The Canadians play again on Sept. 25 in Smiths Falls
against the Bears - the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. On Sept. 26, Carleton Place will play host to Cornwall, with game time at
7:20 p.m.