The first three games of the best-of-seven Capital Region Junior Hockey League championship series were played last week between the Selkirk Fishermen and La Broquerie Habs.
Selkirk Fishermen goaltender Marcus Sharpe scrambles outside the crease as teammates collapse to block a scoring chance from La Broquerie’s Gabriel Asselin during CRJHL championship series action
La Broquerie drew first blood Tuesday with a 6-3 victory in Game 1 at the Selkirk Recreation Complex, fueled by an eruption of goals in the opening frame.
Theo Courchene opened the scoring for Selkirk early in the first before Drew Heide, Luka Tetreault and Connor Tallaire scored three consecutive goals for La Broquerie.
Felix Asselin and Heide then added to the Habs’ lead early in the second to make it 5-1.
Selkirk’s Cole Baker ended the onslaught with his third of the post-season to cut the deficit to three later in the middle frame.
Dawson Bergagnini later made it 5-3 with his fourth of the playoffs, but the score held until Mario Gagnon sealed the win with an empty-net goal — the Habs’ first-ever victory in a championship series game.
Action then shifted to the HyLife Centre in La Broquerie on Friday, where the Fishermen evened the series with a 3-2 win.
Ashton Schroeder opened the scoring with a power-play marker early in the second period.
The Habs tied the game with 41 seconds left in the frame on a goal by Tetreault, setting up a pivotal third period.
Ryan Dupont restored Selkirk’s lead early in the third, followed shortly after by Deacon Kemp, who made it 3-1.
La Broquerie’s Ty Mistelbacher cut the lead to one midway through the period, but both goaltenders shut the door from there as Selkirk secured its first win of the series.
The teams met again Sunday afternoon in Selkirk, where La Broquerie earned a 4-3 double-overtime victory in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Selkirk held a 2-1 lead after a back-and-forth first period, with goals from Dupont and Izzy Aime, while Colton Pakoo replied for La Broquerie.
Asselin scored the lone goal of the second period to tie the game before Tallaire gave the Habs their first lead with 13 minutes remaining in the third.
That lead lasted just three minutes before Drake Vermeulen tied the game 3-3 with his second of the playoffs.
Neither team scored in the final 10 minutes of regulation, sending the game to overtime, where the deadlock continued into double overtime.
Mistelbacher finally ended it with 2:24 remaining in the fifth period.
In goal, Jaxon Loewen made 54 saves for La Broquerie, while Selkirk’s Johnny Enns-Demchuk stopped 56 shots in the loss.
The series returns to the HyLife Centre for Game 4 on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., followed by Game 5 and, if necessary, Games 6 and 7 later in the week.
Upcoming games:
• Game 4: Tuesday, March 31, 7:30 p.m. at HyLife Centre
• Game 5: Thursday, April 2, 7:30 p.m. at Selkirk Recreation Complex
• Game 6: Saturday, April 4, 7 p.m. at HyLife Centre*
• Game 7: Sunday, April 5, 3 p.m. at Selkirk Recreation Complex*
* If necessary
