Articles
LaCourse Tallies 5 and Helps Vikings Cruise Past Mounties
- Details
- Created on Saturday, 30 January 2010 11:38
- Written by Administrator
By: Tucker Labare
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LaCourse was able to show how potent he can be and dismantled the Mounties defense all night
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Mount St. Joseph drove all the way from Rutland to play with just 10 players on their roster, including two goalies and this allowed the Vikings to play at their own pace and score at will.
The Vikings came out strong right from the start and generated many great scoring opportunities. Lyndon had five healthy scoring chances in just the first three minutes, but Colton Aines stood tall in the Mounties net.
“Their first goaltender played great positioning and the only way to beat him was to get him moving. He really kept them in the game in that first period,” stated Lyndon head Coach Mickey Murphy.
Aines continued to thwart every Viking opportunity and frustration began to set in for Lyndon. The Viking’s best chance took place with 5:00 minutes remaining. Ben Polaski blasted a slap shot from the point and LaCourse redirected it with a nice tip. The puck looked as though it was heading into the net, but then Aine’s big leg pad got in the way and kept the game scoreless.
It didn’t take long for LaCourse to finally break Aines after that big scoring chance and he was able to give Lyndon a 1-0 lead with 4:21 left. Ben Nichols fed LaCourse with a pass and the senior went in all alone on the Mounties goalie. LaCourse used his quick hands and get Aines out of position, which allowed him to slide the puck into the net.
Then just 20 seconds later Mount St. Joseph responded and knotted the game at one apiece. Makana Burke broke free after receiving a feed from Corey Lacz and raced in all alone on Viktor Ahlund. Burke faked left then went right and slipped the puck between Ahlund’s leg pad and the post, which allowed the Mounties to enter the second period tied 1-1.
LaCourse then came alive and couldn’t be stopped.
“Brannan showed everyone what he had tonight. The way he played in the third period, sitting back and trying set his teammates up, was great to see,” remarked Murphy.
The senior found himself on another breakaway after receiving a pass from Cody Mitchell and pulled the same move once again, giving the Vikings a quick 2-1 lead just 40 seconds into the stanza.
Then two minutes later LaCourse completed his hat-trick bid after beating Aines with a nice back hand over his glove. The Vikings would continue to pour it on in the second period and tallied four more goals before the frame ended.
Daniel Ott increased the Vikings lead to 4-1 when he scored a short handed break away goal with 8:21 remaining. Then Ott found himself on the other side of the score sheet after he assisted on a Taylor Swartz goal to make it 5-1 Lyndon.
The Vikings continued to dominate the contest and LaCourse fluffed up his stats sheet by scoring two more goals before the period ended. Swartz fed LaCourse with a beautiful pass from behind the net and LaCourse was able to send a laser to the right upper corner.
Then just 47 seconds later Dillon Cloutier fed LaCourse with a nifty spin around back hand pass. LaCourse was sitting on the door step and fired a one timer past Aines, who found himself taken out of the game.
The Vikings headed into the locker room between the second and third period with a comfortable 7-1 lead and were able to ease up a bit during the final stanza.
The Mounties were able to skate with Lyndon for a good portion of the third period and both teams were able to net two goals in the final frame.
“They are a good bunch of kids. They skated hard and I give them a lot of credit,” said Murphy about Mount St. Joseph showing up to play with just eight skaters.
Cloutier scored an unassisted goal just seven seconds into the period, to give the Vikings a healthy 8-1 lead.
Mount St. Joseph was able to fend off Lyndon for most of the period and they received a boost from Burke after he scored his second of the contest, to make it 8-2.
Ott was able to find the net once again for his second goal of the game, during a Viking’s power play and this extended their lead to 9-1, which would be the end of the scoring for Lyndon.
The Mounties were able to strike one more time before the game ended, when Matt Messier shot the puck over the Viking’s goaltender and this cut the Vikings lead down to 9-3, where it would stay for the remainder of the contest.
Aines finished the game with stopping 32-38 shots and Seth Lachance made nine stops for the Mounties. Ahlund brushed aside 13 of 14 shots, while Jake Solomon finished with one save.
With the victory, the Vikings improve to 4-9-1 on the season and host Missisquoi at Fenton Chester Arena on Wednesday with a 6:00pm start.
