The Fort Coulonge Comets hosted a final home opener for all of the association’s minor hockey teams on Sunday at the Centre de Loisirs des Draveurs arena in Fort Coulonge.
Six Comets teams took the ice for the final game in the first round of Outaouais Regional Hockey League (ORHL) playoffs, a process that happens in two phases — a round-robin and then two semi-final games.
Some Comets teams were vying for a spot in their respective league semi-finals. The U15B team went into its Sunday contest tied with the second-place Pontiac Lions, each sporting two wins and one tie in the round-robin playoff round.
In order to advance, the Comets needed to beat their opponent, the Collines Wolves, with an added challenge of avoiding conceding a goal.
“We needed a shutout at the game on Sunday to move onto the second round of the playoffs,” said Karie Bissonnette-Sullivan, whose son Owen Sullivan plays centre for the Comets. “It was exciting. We achieved that with a 4-0 win,” she said.
Benjamin Gagnon scored three goals for the Comets, while Sullivan contributed the fourth.
Coach Ben Beland said he was happy with his team’s performance in this high-pressure situation.
“We played a full game, from puck drop to the final buzzer. Our defence ensured to keep pucks out of our own end while our forward took care of goal scoring,” he said, adding that their semi-final opponent is yet to be determined.
“We will work on minor details but we are looking to stick to a similar game plan going forward.”
The Comets’ U18A team finished the regular season in seventh place. Going into the final game of the first playoff round, they had one victory and one loss, while their opponent, the Pontiac Lions, had two losses. The Comets won handily by a final score of 6-1.
Finlay Dagenais scored three goals, Jakob Dumouchel two and Cédrik Dionne one for the Comets, while Colton Hines scored the Lions’ lone score in the contest. Despite the high-scoring game, neither the Comets or the Lions will advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Other Comets teams advancing to the next round of the playoffs include the U11B team, who emerged victorious over the La Lièvre Jets by a score of 8-2, and the U13B team, who bested the Gatineau Remparts, 2-1.
The season came to an end for two Comets teams on Sunday, as the U11C Comets lost to the Hull Eagles and the U21A Comets fell short against the Aylmer Mariners.
