J.D. POTIÉ
Fort Coulonge
Feb. 8, 2020
The Pontiac Senior Comets have upgraded their record to 13-5-0, after defeating the last place Mont-Tremblant Diables 10-2 on home ice.
The win kept the Comets in . . .
first place in the Outaouais Senior AA Hockey League (OSAAHL), two points ahead of the Mont-Laurier Montagnards with a game in hand.
Having potted at least 10 goals in their previous two games – both against Mont-Laurier – the Comets were eager to start the game strong and impose their will early on a desperate Diables squad that was 4-11-2 heading in.
In the first period, the Comets opened the scoring early, as Ryan Peck put away his seventh of the season just under three minutes in. Assists went to Benoit Harris and Connor Romain.
Just after the half-way mark of the frame, Mitchel Gibson doubled the Comets’ lead with his seventh, assisted by Stephen Blunden.
A few minutes later, Gibson and Blunden connected once again to give the Comets a 3-0 lead heading into the intermission.
At the end of the first period, the Comets’ dominated the shot department 17 to 7.
In the second period, the Comets kept pressing and just over 10 minutes in, Comets’ leading goal scorer Matthew Warren made it 4-0 with his 17th goal of the campaign assisted by line mates Justin Charbonneau and Darcy Findlay.
Just over a couple of minutes later, Gibson completed the hat-trick, with help from Guillaume Gregoire and Blunden to make it 5-0.
A few minutes lafter, the Diables answered with a couple of quick goals to make it 5-2.
But just over a minute later, Blunden notched his fifth of the year and fourth point of the night on a beautiful pass from Gibson on the penalty kill.
The Comets made it 7-2 with another shorthanded marker less than a minute later. This time it was blueliner Matt Sarazin who picked up his first career OSAAHL goal after receiving a pass from Romain and putting home his own rebound.
The second period saw the Comets outshoot the Diables 24 to 11.
With a healthy lead heading into the third, the Comets knew that shutting things down defensively while still applying pressure on the offensive end would likely guarantee them the victory.
Three minutes into the period, Stéphane Paré made it 8-2 with his second of the campaign, assisted by Ryan Peck and Olivier Donovan.
Just before the half way point of the frame, Romain extended the Comets’ lead to seven, before Charbonneau scored his 16th of the season to give the Comets their third straight victory with 10 or more goals.
The Comets had more than twice as many shots as the Diables, out chancing them 64 to 28.
Having found the back of the twine 34 times in their last three games, the Comets have shown that their offensive ability is second to none in the OSAAHL.
After the game, Comets’ head coach Jean-François Lavergne said that he wasn’t satisfied with how his team started off the game, despite putting the puck in the net early.
“Yes, we got out in front,” he said. “But I felt like we kind of followed their tempo instead of imposing our own.”
Boasting four lines filled with offensive threats, Lavergne said that his team’s most recent performance was a testament to its lethal offense while demonstrating dedication to its game plan.
“I think we finished with sixty-something shots on goal,” he said. “Sometimes in games like these you kind of fall into bad habits and to do individual plays. I’m happy we didn’t fall into that highlight of the night kind of stuff. I’m pretty proud of our group for that.”
With only two games left in the regular season, Lavergne said that his team’s focus is sticking to what’s been a successful process and to stay healthy.
As teams prepare to play a more shut-down defensive style, come postseason time, Lavergne expects his team’s final two games – both against the Maniwaki Forestiers – to be solid tests for his team to prove that they’re ready to compete for a championship.
“They’re coming off a series of defeats,” he said. “They know that they have a much better team than what their record is showing presently.”
For their next set of games, the Comets will travel to Maniwaki to take on the Forestiers at the Centre Gino Odjick on Saturday night before hosting them at the Fort Coulonge Arena on Sunday afternoon.

















