The first of three weekends of a new minor hockey tournament took the Shawville arena by storm, bringing teams from as far as Laval and Petawawa to the Pontiac for a chance at the title.
In the inaugural Pontiac Winter Classic, Pontiac Lions teams in both U13 and U11 took on some of their regular Outaouais opponents while also facing off against some new teams.
The tournament replaces the old Pontiac Provincial Tournament that held its last edition in 2024. Holly Lalonde, a member of the tournament’s organizing committee, said they wanted to bring back the event so local minor hockey players could have a home tournament.
“We decided to expand it and kind of do something different. We’ve completely rebranded – new name, new everything,” she said, adding that more than 45 teams would be descending on the Shawville arena over three weekends.
On the opening day of the tournament were what Lalonde called “spotlight games” – where all Lions teams took the ice before their opening games in a ceremony under the spotlights. She said it was a huge hit, and that tournament organizers have received positive feedback so far.
“Having a home tournament is huge for us, we missed having that here. It brings a whole new sense of community to the town,” she said, thanking all volunteers that made the first weekend a success.
The U13B Lions made it to the tournament final after going 2-2 in the round robin stage, but a single goal from Nolan MacDougall was not enough to propel his team to victory as his team fell 3-1 to the Petawawa team.
The U13C division featured both the Pontiac Lions and the Fort Coulonge Comets, though neither team made the tournament final. The teams’ lone game against each other saw the Comets rise to a convincing 5-1 defeat. Goals for the Comets were scored by Kayden Normandeau, Sarah-Lee Béchamp, Nixon Laperle and Aiden Farley (2 goals). The lone Lions goal was scored by Liam Daley.
The U11A division final featured the host Lions facing off against the Aylmer Extremes. The visiting Extremes took the game 6-2, with Pontiac goals from Malyk Kingsbury and Jaxen White.
The U11B Lions squad faced off in Sunday’s final against the Collines Chacals, a team they had beat 5-0 earlier that morning. The final was a different result, a 5-1 loss to their Outaouais rivals.
Despite the loss, captain Laurel Sally and goalie Nash Lennon were happy with their team’s second-place finish in the tournament.
“I made lots of saves, and our team skated really well, and we almost brought home the victory,” said Lennon of the result.
“It felt good to have a home tournament. There was a lot more motivation,” said Sally of the added energy of having home fans cheering the team on.
The tournament will return this weekend (Jan 16-18) as the Shawville arena will play host to U15 and U18 teams. The final weekend, happening Feb. 14 and 15, will see over 25 teams at the U9 and MAHG levels take the ice.
