The Pontiac Senior Comets honoured players from throughout the team’s history Saturday night in Fort Coulonge, right before the team kicked off a weekend doubleheader.

Players were honoured with a photo on the ice before Saturday night’s game against the Arnprior Rivermen, and were invited to wear their jerseys and other apparel from throughout the team’s history.

The moment of recognition was the idea of Fort Coulonge native and Comets starting goalie Danick Boisvert, who put out a call to former Comets players. He said he wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the team’s history.

“It’s why we wear the Comets jersey today. Those older guys, they are involved, they come to the games. It was important to recognize that,” he said of the players, many of whom played in a time when the team was still a part of the Pontiac Intermediate League.

Gerry Labelle was one of the former players who attended. Originally from Waltham, he played with the Comets from 1968 to 1974, and fondly recalled playing in packed arenas against teams from Campbell’s Bay, Bryson and Calumet Island.

“Back in those days, hockey was pretty big. When we got to the playoffs, you had about a thousand to 1,200 people that came out to the game. That was our life,” he said, adding that he enjoyed seeing all the familiar faces from over the years.

“As we get older, we’ve family and children and grandchildren, and we kind of lose track,” he said, adding that they should take the opportunity to get together while they still can.

Boisvert, who organized a similar event in 2018, said unfortunately not all of the players are still alive, so he wants to get the former players together more often while it’s still possible.

“There are a few [guys] that are gone now and they are part of the history of Coulonge, and they brought families to the arena for 20 years [ . . . ] They are the last generation of Comets that are still with us, so it’s important for us to recognize those guys. They bring a lot of stories to that Comets logo.”

He added that eventually he would like to have some old jerseys and other Comets attire on display at the Centre de Loisirs des Draveurs Century 21 Élite for fans to see and learn the history behind the team.

Comets lose two at home

A chippy contest between the Comets and the visiting Arnprior Rivermen saw the home team fall short by a score of 5-3.

Just over two minutes into the game, the Comets’ Benoit Harris was awarded a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for a hip check on a Rivermen player — a play from which the Comets never recovered.
Arnprior scored the lone goal in the first period, quickly matched by the Comets’ Quinn O’Brien only three minutes into the second. But the visitors would score two more unanswered goals, taking a 3-1 lead to begin the final frame.

Despite an early third-period goal by the Comets’ Jonathan Bourcier, the home team surrendered two more tallies, falling short at the final horn.

The Comets’ Sunday contest, also at home but this time against the Manotick Mariners, was a high-scoring affair. The first period, which saw four goals by the home team in less than five minutes, ended with the Comets leading 4-3.

The Mariners shot back with six consecutive goals of their own, including one on the powerplay and one short-handed, putting them ahead 7-5 late in the second.

After a Mariners goal broadened the visitors’ margin to three, the Comets responded with three consecutive goals to force an overtime frame. Home team fans left the arena disappointed, though, as the Mariners’

Branden Makara scored the winning overtime goal.

With the pair of losses the Comets fell to third place in the Capital region with a record of five wins and 10 losses.

The team’s next game is Sun., Jan. 12, when it will host Low’s Paugan Falls Rapids in Fort Coulonge at 5 p.m..