87's drop game three and are out of playoffs

Garit Reid/ Northern News

Monday,  February 25, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's gave it their best shot last night as they dropped game three of their playoffs 6-5 to the North Bay Trappers. The loss puts the 87's out of the GNML playoffs. They played aback and forth game, where the 87's had leads at various times, but in the end lost a close one.

It was a well played game for the 87's, except for a little sloppy play in the second, where the Trappers capitalized on some chances and took the lead. Other than that it was a game the 87's could have won. Head coach Ray Belecque commented on how the game went, "I thought we could have had that game. The series could be 2-2 right now. The kids kind of had a little lapse in the second period."

It was a fast paced game that catered towards the fans that were there in droves to cheer on their Legion team, they just couldn't overcome the two-goal deficit going into the third period.

Goalie Matt Madden played a solid game except for the second period where he and his team had a lack of concentration, but all in all it was a game the 87's could have won. Coach Belecque had this to say about Madden's performance, "Matt didn't have his best game, he played okay, but he didn't he didn't play his best especially with they one they went ahead with."

Coach Belecque was still impressed with the effort his team gave and had this to say about it, "They are pretty happy with themselves. They didn't go out like a bunch of goons and they played hard until the end."

The 87's did all they could in this game to pull out a win and it showed in how well they played for the majority of the game. "Everyone was fore checking at the beginning and we were winning the first period and we kind of made that little lapse in the second when they got those two goals to go ahead 6-4. They had lots of chances to tie it in the third, but they just couldn't put one away, " said coach Belecque.

Scoring for the Legion 87's was Justin Lafrance, Stephane Landry, Kevin Ratte, and two by Mike Souriol. Assists came from Shane Dube, Jordan Turbide, Frankie Hart, Joseph Raimondo and three by Joseph Gauthier.

The team had a decent year where they stayed in the middle of the pack of the league. They had games where they played well and games where they didn't. They showed in the games where they played well that they could play with some of the top teams, so it is all things to build on for next season.

It will be interesting to see what the KL Legion 87's can bring to the table next season, with a lot of players returning hopefully they can teach the new faces the positive things they learnt this year.

With that combination of old and new players hopefully they can get over the hump and be up around the top four teams in the league, but only time will tell.

Legion down 2-0 in the first round of playoffs

Garit Reid/ Northern News

Wednesday,  February 20, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's started the first round of their playoffs this past weekend with a couple of losses 9-2 and 4-2 to the North Bay Trappers. This puts the 87's down 2-0 in the best of five game series against the Trappers. The first game was a blowout due to a lack of discipline and the second game was well played, but the 87's were still saddled with the loss.

Head coach Ray Belecque commented on the performance of his team in the first game, "Basically in the first game we took stupid penalties as well as we couldn't be as aggressive as we wanted to be. In the game we were definitely outclassed."

The Legion 87's have to get away from the trend of taking penalties and to know how to play disciplined hockey even when things aren't going there way.

In the first game their only two goals came off the power play. If they can stay out of the penalty box and play more even strength or power play hockey then they would have a better opportunity to win the games.

Winning is what the team has to do with their backs against the wall now that they are down 2-0 in the series. One loss and the season for the 87's are over.

The 87's did play better in the second game where it was 3-2 until the Trappers put it away with an empty netter.

Coach Belecque commented on how his team improved in the second game, "In the game on Sunday the kids came to play and they played like a team, but they still took some stupid penalties. On Sunday we out muscled them to the puck and we got on them right away. The defense fore checked and we were right on top of them."

One of the big keys to success is stopping Trapper player Nick Huard who got a hat trick on Sunday and drew a lot of penalties out of the 87's. "He played a good game, this Nick guy, we stayed with him, but he still scored three goals on us. We have to find a way stopping him. We might just have to put somebody on him. That was basically the difference in the game."

87's drop pre-playoff tilt

Garit Reid/ Northern News

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's lost a close decision to the North Bay Trappers 4-2 in Saturday night action at the 'Joe'. They were in the game for then most part until they surrendered a short handed goal in the third that sunk their hopes in pulling out the victory.

There was a positive in the game, which saw call up Adam Daoust score the first goal of the game. He scored four goals in his game with the KL Gold Midget team earlier in the afternoon. "Adam Daoust got our first goal, that was really nice," said Assistant coach Jamie Belecque.

The team has been suffering from a short bench for parts of the season due to suspensions and injury, but it has still seen them competitive, it's just harder to play the high skilled team's this way. "We had a short bench again. We had three defense, two lines so it was pretty tough. They got two squeakers in the first, but we came back. It was a good game all around," said assistant coach Belecque.

The game was fairly rough in the third period, which looks to foreshadow what the first round of the playoffs will be like when they play each other in North Bay the following Saturday. They will have their hands full I think. We will have all of our guys back so we should be in good shape. As long as we can get Frankie Hart and Joseph Gauthier back in the lineup, Justin Lafrance is going to Timmins to get a players cast on his wrist so we should have a full squad. It will be a rough series for sure," said assistant coach Belecque.

With close games all season against the Trappers, which were all losses the 87's want to change that trend by taking it to them in the best of five series. "If we can steal one down there, we can have a good chance, but if we come back home and we're down two it won't look that good," said assistant coach Belecque.

There are key players that need to step it up for the playoffs and assistant coach Belecque commented on some of the players that will have to do this in order to win. "If we can Frankie Hart he's a big key for us, Jordan Turbide, Chris Walraven, Dube played well tonight and always goaltending, which is always big."

Scoring for the Legion 87's was Adam Daoust assisted by Scott Middlemiss and Chase McKnight. Shane Dube scored the second goal, which was assisted by Jordan Turbide and Chase Mcknight.

The KL Legion 87's head into the playoffs against the North Bay Trappers, which will see a rough hard nosed series that will entertain their fans.

Tired 87's show character against Flyers

Garit Reid / Northern News

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's played host to the Kapuskasing Flyers in Sunday afternoon action at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex where they came away with the victory 5-2.

It took a while for the 87's to get things going in this game, maybe due to the fact that it was their third game in three days. With the slow start it gave the Flyers a chance to jump on the 87's in the first by taking the lead 1-0. They kept this lead all the way into the second period.

Head coach Ray Belecque commented on the slow start of his team, "They were pretty tire, playing three games in a row in this league plus the emotional games against the Cubs. It was tough on them and we're hurt, we have four kids down and one out for the year."

The 87's did pick their game up in the second period potting four of the team's five goals in the period. Being down 1-0 to the last place Flyers was a wake up call for them in the second.

Coach Belecque was impressed with how his team played through the fatigue. "I think they showed a lot of character in the three games to play with what we had. We finished this game with less than two lines."

The team has played through injury and suspensions all season long and they are starting to learn how to play through adversity and it should help them in the playoffs if players get hurt along they way. It will show them when they're down they have to play harder and hustle more if they want to come out on the winning end.

The Flyers game was a test in that it showed them how to play through fatigue and emotions stemming from the New Liskeard games on the weekend. It foreshadows how they have to play in the playoffs. Plus they have to do it against harder and more highly skilled teams.

Getting back to the Kap game it saw the Flyers goalie Ryan Beaudoin play a good game, which is why the score was only 5-2. He kept his team in the game with some nice saves. 87's goalie Drew Peckover also made the saves when he had to. "You have to give their goalie credit he stopped some shots I don't think he's ever seen. Our kids were getting frustrated and I told my guys to keep it low and I think the first three goals were all along the ice," said coach Belecque.

The scoring for the 87's was evenly spread out with five different scorers. The first goal of the game was scored by Kevin Ratte and assisted by Joseph Raimondo and Scott Middlemiss. Scott Middlemiss scored the second goal on the power play. The third goal was scored Devin Lippett and assisted by Jordan Turbide. The fourth goal was scored by Mike Souriol and assisted by Jordan Turbide and Trevor Denault. The fifth goal was an impressive shorthanded goal scored by Stephane Landry, assisted by Chris Walraven.

Legion 87's play impressive games against Cubs

Garit Reid / Northern News

Monday, February 04, 2008

The Kirkland Legion 87's had an away/home game series with the New Liskeard Cubs, which culminated on Saturday Night with the 87's taking both games by scores of 5-2 and 4-1. In a rivalry, which has seen a lot of physical and rough play, this year the two games played over the weekend was about the hockey. The two teams kept their penalties down in order to just play the game.

The games had spurts of offense in them, but it was all defense and goaltending for both teams. There were a couple of times on Saturday where the 87's had to fight off a five on three, but they kept their composure and played a structured penalty kill. With a short bench the 87's players who played showed how tough and motivated they can be when they have to be. Head coach Ray Belecque had this to say about his players, "The kids showed a lot of character, the ones we were left with. We ended up with a couple of injuries. The kids that were left played hard on the puck and worked as a team unit."

With injury problems from mainstay players like Justin Lafrance with a wrist problems and Chris Walraven left late in the game from a slash to his arm. Those players may be in doubt. Joseph Gauthier may also be out with prolems with his achilles tendon. With these injuries the 87's will have to do what they did on Saturday night, and that is to learn how to win with a short bench.

"They can be competitive with North Bay too, but they have to come to play and they have to come and listen. They can't set their own goals, and they proved that as a team against New Liskeard," said coach Belecque about playing North Bay in the playoffs.

Coach Belecque was also impressed with the two games against New Liskeard and how his team played well against the rival Cubs. "They proved it with New Liskeard, every game was tough they weren't lopsided games and we knew it was going to be tough to beat Selbie, but once we got a couple by him it was a little easier. He stood on his head until we scored that first goal."

Cubs coach Steve Polyblank was impressed with how his team played and the effort they put forth in the two game set against the 87's. "All in all I was pretty happy with the effort. I think on Friday we out shot them, but we got behind the eight ball in the first period a little bit."

Coach Polyblank was impressed with how the goalies played and how teams played good hockey against each other and not the rough and tumble games they have had previously this year. "Tonight's game I think was a very good game and it was close back and forth and both goaltenders played quite well I thought. I think our team just tired out near the end. Once you tire out you make some lazy plays and they put the puck in the net."

Legion 87's looking at Cubs and playoffs

Garit Reid / Northern News

Friday, February 1, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's have a couple of big games against their rivals the New Liskeard Cubs with an away game on Friday and back at home on Saturday night. This is a big four points for the team who is still in hope of taking over fifth spot in the standings. "They cannot overtake us (Cubs) now, but we are still fighting for fifth spot. It would be nice to end up in fifth spot right behind North Bay because that's who we are playing in the playoffs," said head Coach Ray Belecque.

The 87's had a spirited games against the North Bay Trappers last Saturday in North Bay where they lost 8-1, but again they stayed close early in the game to just let it slip away by a few defensive let downs.

The game was only 2-1 after the first period but yet again penalties were the cause of a string of goals against the 87's. Discipline is a big factor for the team who plays well when they don't take undisciplined penalties. They have to realize the more they are even strength the better chance they have at staying in games.

"It was 2-1 in the first period, it was fairly close then we got four penalties in a row and cost us three goals plus a penalty shot, which gave them there fifth goal and then the third period was close," said coach Belecque.

The 87's have had close games with North Bay and show the signs that they can compete with the majority of teams in their league.

The team is preparing to play some tough games against the Cubs this weekend and these games would be a good place to show what type of team the 87's are going to bring into the playoffs. If they can show that they are disciplined and play wide open, dump and chase hockey it will prove to the coaching staff that they want to make an impact against the Cubs and into the playoffs.

The rivalry between the 87's and the Cubs still rages on as head coach Steve Polyblank of the Cubs has been gearing up his team on the radio against the 87's. "Since Polyblank has been talking on the radio on Monday that all they're doing is gearing up to beat the Legion 87's. We are going to come out one way or the other and give it a good shot," said coach Belecque.

So it will be seen what team will come out to face the Cubs this weekend, the team who gives up penalties or the team ready to make a winning statement for the playoffs.

87's win big against Cubs in shutout romp

Garit Reid / Northern News

Friday, January 25, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's won a big game on the road against their rivals the New Liskeard Cubs in a 6-0-shutout romp. They controlled the game from the get go scoring short-handed goals and power play all across the board.

Head coach Ray Belecque was extremely impressed with the way his team played, especially in an important game to stay ahead of the Cubs in the standings. "I thought the guys all played really well and Madden played super in net and the guys came back played hard and worked hard on the puck and two short-handed goals, awesome," said coach Belecque.

There were chances for the 87's throughout the whole first period, but they couldn't put the pick in the net and the score stayed scoreless after one period of play. The turning point in the game for the 87's was the fist short-handed goal that was scored on a five on three. It swung the momentum for the 87's and they never looked back. "That's what I think was the big turning point in the game those two short-handed goals. To me the penalty kill was the biggest thing in the game for us; Gauthier and Ratte were awesome for us," said coach Belecque.

The 87's put a lot of pucks at Cubs goalie Andrew Selbie, who played well, but couldn't stop the amount of shots that cam his way. Coach Belecque commented on this, "And you know what, Selbie played good, it wasn't that he played bad, they were good goals."

Coach Belecque knew they had to get good scoring chances in order to win, which they had they just didn't capitalize on them in the first period. "In the first period we missed the net a lot and that worried me. We should have been up a couple goals and I thought all they have to do in the second is come out and get a goal or two and we're screwed, but I couldn't believe the breakaway, perfect shot." The perfect shot being the shorthanded goal that got the 87's the first goal of the game.

An added bonus to the game was the shutout from goalie Matt Madden, who played a stellar game stopping every shot that came his way. He kept his team in the game in the first period when it was scoreless. The shutout came in an important game with the 87's trying to make their way up the standings while trying to stay ahead of their rivals, the Cubs.

Madden was happy about his shutout for a couple reasons and had this to say about it, "I feel really good and it takes a lot of pressure off because I was really worried about this game and it turned out better than expected. Me and Selbie are good friends, but on the ice we're obviously not and it feels good when we score six and they score none."

The New Liskeard Cubs had a rough game letting two back-to-back shorthanded goals in; in a game where they were toe to toe with the 87's after the first period. Head coach Steve Polyblank was disappointed with the result of the game and commented on how the game went for his team, "We didn't play very well. The first period we were ok. I think Kirkland is a little more skilled than us and it was a little deflating when we had a five on three and we had two shorthanded goals scored on us. We got outworked and out hustled. We also have to be a little more disciplined."

With the loss there are things that coach Polyblank would like his team to improve on and had this to say about it, "We have to work on our defensive play. We are not that good in our own end and we have to work on five on fours. It was important game it just seemed that Kirkland Lake wanted it more."

Joseph Gauthier led the scoring for the 87's with a hat trick that was shadowed by Madden's shutout. Gauthier did score the all-important first shorthanded goal of the game on the five on three and Kevin Ratte scored the other shorthanded goal, which were both unassisted markers. Frankie Hart scored the third goal on the power play assisted by Stephane Landry and Chase McKnight. The last three goals were even strength goals scored in the third to add insult to injury. Mike Souriol scored assisted by Devin Lippett and Justin Lafrance.

Joseph Gauthier got the last two third period goals, which were assisted by Justin Lafrance and Frankie Hart.

Legion let game get away from them early

Garit Reid / Northern News

Wednesday January 28, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's let the game get away from them Sunday afternoon taking the loss 9-4 against the Timmins Majors. They let a few goals against them take them out of their game and it will be something the team will try to improve on in future games.

Head coach Ray Belecque commented on the ups and downs that took place in the game. "We didn't come to play for 60 minutes we played not bad for about ten minutes, then they scored a few goals and the kids got down, but they came back in the second. Then they got into penalty trouble then they decided to play hockey in the third."

With bursts of good defensive play the 87's looked to stay with the Majors until they scored a bunch of quick goals in the second period. The 87's went away from their speed game of forechecking after the dump and started to play the body more, which the 87's can do, but is more of Timmins' style of game.

The 87's also had a tough time getting their passes out of their end and also breaking into the offensive zone, which goes back to not playing the dump and chase game with the speed that the team has.

Coach Belecque commented on this as well, "Playing with four defensemen and two and a half lines and our suspensions are over, so going to New Liskeard we should have a full team again, but you can't blame it on that. You have to play 60 minutes to win in this league."

One of the positives again for the 87's was the play of Jordan Turbide, the team's leading scorer. Coach Belecque had a lot of good things to say and a little positive criticism. "Turbide put on a show at the end there. If the kid would only listen to coaching, but he handles the puck like a pro, and he can take a hit and he can give a hit. He's a big kid and he's only 14."

Going back to the Thursday 5-4 overtime loss, the 87's had a 4-2 lead going into the third period and let it slip out of their hands. "We were winning 4-2 going into the third, but we let a couple soft ones in and we ended up losing in overtime," said coach Belecque.

Belecque also reiterated what it takes to beat a team like Timmins, "To beat this team you have to forecheck. If you want to beat them you have to dump it into their zone and the goalie was lucky, we missed a lot of goals."

Things are looking better as they head into New Liskeard on Wednesday night, in which they will have a full lineup with all of the suspension being over, the 87's will be able to compete with full lines.

The scoring for the 87's was lead by Jordan Turbide with two goals and an assist. Justin Lafrance had a goal and an assist. Kevin Ratte also scored one for Legion. Other assists came from Mike Souriol.

For things to improve they will have to keep practicing what their coach preaches and to keep the penalty minutes to a minimum. With the playoffs looming it will be interesting to see how the team can finish out the regular season.

Legion 87's lose tough one at home

Garit Reid /  Northern News

KIRKLAND LAKE – The Kirkland Lake Legion 87’s took the loss against the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars 6-1 in a game where the North Stars jumped on them early and rode that momentum throughout the game. It was also a game where the 87’s shone defensively, but only in spurts.

The North Stars jumped out to an early lead with two quick goals in the first minute of the game. Head coach Ray Belecque commented on the effect it had on his team, “The kids were just mesmerized. They came flying at us and they realized, wow.” Wow as in they had to realize how tough of a team the North Stars and they had to pick up their game quick.

Losses are always a hard learning experience and there are always ways to counter the mistakes a team makes in games like this one. Coach Belecque commented on his team has to do in order to compete with the North Stars, “With a team like that you have to dump and chase and fore-check them like crazy because if you give them any space, Bango.” Bango as in the North Stars will take advantage of any space they are given.

In the past the 87’s lost to the North Stars by larger scores, even though they lost this game 6-1 they are starting to narrow the gap. The 87’s in the second period were great defensively, they just have to learn to stay disciplined and play an entire 60 minutes that way against teams as tough as the North Stars.

Looking at the Gatineau tournament where the 87’s also took some tough losses they seemed were a lot of similarities to Saturday’s game. Playing some good tough periods, but then letting in a bunch of quick goals in others. “All three games were like either 2-1 or 1-1 after the first period, but then they would get goals in spurts like four or five goals.”

So it just seems that the 87’s just have to focus and not have any mental let downs in a full game. It is easier said than done, but the 87’s have a group of kids that can do it.

Scoring the lone goal for the 87’s was Trevor Deneault assisted by Chris Walraven.

Trevor Deneault did score the goal in the second, but also went down with injury in the same period with an apparent injury to his knee. He will be getting it checked out in Iroquois Falls where he is from. Hopefully the injury sustained isn’t that bad and he’ll be back on the ice soon.

The 87’s also received a lot of penalties in the game and that made it hard to play a competitive game against the North Stars. Discipline is a factor for the 87’s to do well for the rest of the season.

On another note some of the new rules and it is the rules that are being addressed here and not the officiating of them. Rules where a player can be assessed a penalty for an obscene gesture is odd. There is the unsportsmanlike penalty for things like that and should be under the referee’s discretion to call it.

The fewer penalties in a game the faster it is and it makes the hockey better to watch as well.

87's look at Gatineau Tourney as a showcase

 Garit Reid/  Northern News

Friday January 11, 2008

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's will face some international competition as they take part in the annual Gatineau Kiwanis Midget Hockey Tournament this weekend.

This tournament will be looked at as a showcase for their players wanting to get to higher levels of hockey, while also trying to win along the way.

Head coach of the KL Legion 87's Ray Belecque had this to say of the intentions for his team going to the tournament, "It's a showcase, trying to show our talent to the Quebec junior hockey league there and hopefully some of these guys get tryouts with them next fall.

"We had three guys last year get tryouts with Val D'Or. It's not all about winning, it's about representing the Legion well and so they can get some tryouts."

With tryouts aside to showcase these talents well the 87's will have to lay smart hockey to do well against these teams who are all major midget teams in their last year of midget play. The 87's have a lot of different aged players, their leading scorer Jordan Turbide is only 14 and this tournament is a good place to get lots of hockey experience. Other call-ups to the team will be Doug Bolger and goalie Drew Peckover of the KL Gold Midgets.

"And we have a 14 year old coming with us," said assistant head coach Jamie Belecque who reiterated the fact that they are going to be up against some older possibly more experienced players. Head coach Belecque interjected by saying, "He acts like 16 because he is starting to play hockey, and he's starting to build, starting to show that he can play at this level."

Head coach Belecque commented that this tournament is a good place to see how good a player can be to make it to a junior team. "It's a good eye opener for these guys to see what it takes to make it because a lot of these guys from this tournament are the ones who are going to get drafted into junior hockey.

The tournament will be a showcase for the players, but right after they are finished with the tournament the 87's have to come right back and play a very tough game against the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars, who are one of the top teams in their division. They have not done that well against them this season and have to look past the tournament to their own league.

With the level of competition at the tournament it will make them ready for a tough North Stars team. "These three games in the tournament will be no different than the one we are going to play back here. It will be a builder of tough games then come back and play a team of that caliber to be prepared, said head coach Belecque.

Players may be a little fatigued coming back, but should be prepared for their game from the level of competition they faced at the tournament. "It will be a road trip game at home," said assistant coach Belecque. With added experince from the tournament, hopefully it will give them a boost of confidence.

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87's streak comes to end with loss to Majors

Brad Sherratt
Sports - Wednesday, December 26, 2007 @ 08:00

Despite an all around good effort the Legion 87's dropped a 3-2 decision on Sunday afternoon at the complex to the Timmins Majors.

Both teams came out flying and the first couple of goals in the contest came early as Legion's Chris Walraven opened the scoring just 39 seconds with the help of some good work from his line mates Justin Lafrance and Trevor Deneault.

But the Majors responded just over a minute later when Eric Allarie scored to tie the game at one apiece.

As the period went on both teams had tremendous chances but Legion's Matt Madden and his counterpart from the Majors Martin Belanger kept the shooters at bay.

Then with just under six minutes left in the period Timmins took the lead with an unassisted goal by Timmins' Randell Rickard.

But Walraven wasn't done scoring as he picked up his second of the game three minutes later and once again the game was tied. Deneault and Justin Lafrance picked up assists on the play.

In the second period both teams got away from the skating game and the physical play began with players on both sides going to the body quite often.

As with the first frame both goalies showed their stuff on numerous occasions but it was the Majors who found the back of the net for their third goal, which, as it turned out, was the game winner.

In the third period the 87's kept pressing but simply could not beat Belanger.

Speaking after the contest Legion Head Coach said he was very pleased with how his players performed.

"Everybody, right from the goaltender, to the defense and forwards, it was an excellent game to watch, no doubt."

And as for the second frame when the hitting began, Belecque says he wasn't concerned.

"He have some good hitters as well and they took it too us.

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

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87's not taking Kap Flyers lightly

Brad Sherratt  /  Northern News
Sports - Friday, November 02, 2007 @ 08:00

Coming off a disappointing weekend where they had hoped to collect some points, the Legion 87's head to Kapuskasing on Sunday knowing they have to beat the Flyers, as they have done already this season.

Despite the two losses, Head Coach Ray Belecque says the team did come away with a bit of a high, especially after coming so close against the Nickel City Sons.

"We had a high to end that game on Sunday. We came back (after) being down 7-2.

"We came back and made it 7-5 and it ended up 8-5 so they know they can play the game."

It should be noted that just prior to the Sons' eighth goal, the 87's had scored to get themselves within one, but the marker was disallowed due to goaltender interference

Heading into Sunday's match up however Belecque says his players have to avoid from being too overconfident.

The lowly Flyers are going through a difficult season and Belecque says they will be gunning for the two points.

"They can't take Kap lightly.

" They are definitely looking at us as lower team; to get two points off us, so we have to go in their using our heads and keeping our cool, working hard."

Recently the staff has been experimenting, moving some of the players around to different positions.

And Belecque says that moving defenceman Matt Cormier up to the wing is working out well.

"Cormier played very well (on the road trip) but he didn't play much of the second game (due to an injury). He had a really good game against Sudbury.

"He was probably one of our best forwards."

Sons defeat 87's 8-5 in close game

Brad Sherratt  /  Northern News
Sports - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 @ 08:00

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's put forth a good effort on Sunday afternoon but still came out on the short end of an 8-5 decision to the Nickel City Sons.

The Sons jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but Legion tied the score on a power play goal from Jordan Turbide.

Devin Lippett and Frankie Hart picked up the assists on the play.

The Sons responded late in the period however to take the 2-1 lead into the dressing room.

In the second stanza the Sons scored twice more to goal up 4-1 but Chris Walraven scored for the 87's to bring the team a little closer heading into the final period. Justin Lafrance and Trevor Deneault chipped in with assists on the goal.

The third period was wild to say the least as the teams combined four seven goals. Unfortunately for Legion, the Sons scored four of the markers for the win.

Third period tallies for Legion went to Mike Souriol, Walraven with his second of the game and Chase McKnight.

Third period assists went to Hart, Turbide with two, Lafrance, Deneault and Souriol.

According to Legion Head Coach the team showed a lot of heart and at times out played their opponents.

He added that the loss was a real heartbreaker.

He also said that a pivotal moment in the game came in the third period when, with the Sons up 7-5, Legion scored a goal, which was disallowed due to goaltender interference.

The Sons then went on to score their eighth and final goal.

The 87's have now faced every team in the league and Coach Belecque feels his club can compete with any of the teams in the league, with the exception of the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves and the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars.

The 87's now prepare for a Sunday afternoon game in Kapuskasing against the Flyers.

Game time at the Sports Palace is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Wolves hammer Legion 87's

Brad Sherratt
Sports - Monday, October 29, 2007 @ 08:00

The Kirkland Lake Legion 87's were hoping to make a good account of themselves in Sudbury on Saturday night when they took on the powerful Nickel Capital Wolves but instead the team ended up taking their worst defeat of the year losing 13-1.

As they did when they played at the complex, the Wolves stormed out to a 6-0 first period lead.

But the 87's kept battling and the Wolves managed to only score twice more before the end of the second frame.

In the third the 87's got on the board with a goal from Stephan Landry and they team was looking to have a much better period.

But then all of a sudden the Wolves scored four times in less then two minutes to seal the 87's fate. Sudbury adding their last goal late in the game for the win.

87's Head Coach Ray Belecque said for a while the team was doing pretty good.

"I thought we played well for a period and a half", said Belecque referring to the second and part of the third period.

Both Matt Madden and Kieran Duquette saw action between the pipes.

According to the coach he alternated them on more than one occasion during the game because it seemed they were getting frustrated. The team was still looking to collect some points on the trip when they faced the Nickel City Sons on Sunday afternoon.

Legion 87's prepare for Sudbury road trip

Brad Sherratt
Sports - Friday, October 26, 2007 @ 08:00

Last weekend at the Bell Sensplex Tournament in Ottawa the Legion 87's juggled their line-up to some degree in an effort to get the puck out of their end quicker.

According to the coaching staff the changes seemed to have worked so they will be maintaining those roster changes when they head to Sudbury this weekend for a games against the Nickel Capital Wolves and Nickel City Sons.

"I think with the change of (moving Shane) Dub‚ on to defence and putting (Matt) Cormier up on wing; he's a faster skater, I think that is going to help us big time, as well with Mike Souriol on the point to. We have a couple of guys that can move the puck and then we have our other defencemen, says Coach Ray Belecque

" I think we have something good here and we'll find out this weekend in Sudbury how it works out. "

He adds that the team will stay with three set lines. "We are putting our lines together now that we are not going to juggle them around. Any of them will go out on the power play. We will more or less have three lines that we can put anyone of them out there on the powerplay. When you don't have players to come back when you start taking one player off each line then you have no line to come back to. You have one guy off of each line that is tired."

He says the changes worked well in Ottawa and adds the players are getting used to their new positions.

"Cormier played the last two games in Ottawa up front and he did okay. He's quick, he's a good skater."

Belecque also says that playing on some large ice surfaces in Ottawa was helpful in terms of playing the Wolves, whose home rink is extremely large.

"In the Sportsplex (in Ottawa) there was one Olympic-sized surface there, so they got a little bit of a taste of the bigger ice so that is going to help."

The coach is also hopeful that his club can come home from the trip with some points.

"I'm hoping we'll get two points this weekend," says Belecque.

While the goal on Saturday against the Wolves is to keep the game as close as possible on Sunday against the Sons, it is a different thing.

"Their goals against are pretty high, their goals for is a little bit better than ours.

"They are not to far ahead of us, I think they only have 10 points so I am looking for a point or two off of those guys if we play the way we played last weekend."

He says both of the club's goaltenders will see action this weekend adding that he has confidence in both of them.

And as for practice this weekend Belecque says he and the rest of the staff are working on a number of different things.

"Back checking, playing without the puck.

There will be a lot of back checking drills. There won't be much with the special teams.

We're going to have to skate to pick up our man."

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

 In the second frame the teams traded chances with both teams notching a goal. Legion's marker came off the stick of Jordan Turbide with assists going to Justin Lafrance and Chase McKnight.

In the third period the Majors scored another goal on the power play to go ahead 5-2 but the 87's came back to add their last marker by Shane Dub‚. Chris Walraven and Trevor Deneault picked up the assists on the play.

Speaking after the game it was obvious that Legion Head Coach Ray Belecque was visibly frustrated. "I thought we kind of played a little slack in the first period and in the second and the third it was kind of wide open. Our goalie (Kieran Duquette) would have had a couple of those on a given night. I thought he played well but I thought he let in a couple of soft ones."

On more than one occasion the 87's had a five on three powerplay but simply could not convert so according to the coach they simply went with their regular lines.

"The powerplay wasn't clicking so I just went straight to the lines. "They (the powerplay units) weren't used to the forechecking. Look at the talent (on Timmins) compared to last night (versus Kapuskasing). I think our guys have to be quicker.

" Bill (Enouy) is working with them and the big thing is for them to get their shots away quicker, pass quicker, things like that because we are still hesitating. As soon as it hits your stick you have to know where it is going."

The team is now preparing for a tournament this weekend in Ottawa and as such the scheduled game on Friday against New Liskeard has been postponed.

Printed from www.northernnews.ca web site © 2007

 Speaking after the game Head Coach Ray Belecque was pleased with the victory and said the team's powerplay was a key to the win.

"It was a little shaky there (in the beginning) but the big thing that came through (was) we worked most of the week on powerplays and I think they got a couple nice goals to come back from 1-0 and go ahead 3-1. That was a big turning point."

Throughout the early going of the season the club has been hampered by a lack of discipline and while the club took a few more penalties than they would have wanted to, overall they maintained their composure and got themselves into little trouble.

"Like I've said, it's frustrating when you think it's not a penalty but you have to live with it.

"Whatever they call is what they are going to call and there is not much you can do about it. It's the ones that you retaliate or mouth off; those are the ones that kill you and hurt you down the road. Tonight there was only once where we could have had a powerplay but our guy kind of shoved back and that hurt us because we (didn't get) the powerplay," said Belecque.

Overall they took their penalties and went to the box and they were pretty consistent without mouthing off," he added.

And overall Coach Belecque felt it was a good overall performance. "I thought all the lines played well. Deneault and Walraven (played well).

"I think the line of Hart, Jordan Turbide and Mike Souriol was superb tonight. I thought that was Jordan's best game so far."

From the players' perspective they too were happy with the way they played. Speaking amongst a group of jubilant teammates Hart said it was a great game.

"We stayed out of the box unlike our other games so that really helped a lot."

He added that his entire line played really well. "Our line did really well.

"Our last practice we practiced our powerplay a lot so that helped a lot too."

 "It was kind of a rough weekend in the Sault but I think we learned a few things by losing those games and seeing why we lost those games. Everybody understands that killing penalties really hurt so it showed that we have to stay out of the box.

 "This weekend I hope the kids will have learned from what (happened) in the Sault; that when you play a good team and having 16 out of 18 goals being scored on the powerplay. So I'm really focusing on it this weekend. We have to get (no more than) five or six penalties roughly in the game and come out on the better end."

The club plays Kapuskasing, the team they got their first win from, on Saturday and then on Sunday they take on the Timmins Majors. And again Coach Belecque reiterated that two wins is the goal.

"We owe Timmins one for one we let getaway in Timmins and we know what we have to do with Kap. They are getting better all the time too so we have to build up our confidence by beating them the way we should. 8-5 was no heroic win in Kap. They were coming on in the end (of the game).

Saturday night's contest is slated for the usual 7:30 p.m. start time while Sunday's game is set for 1:30 p.m.

Kevin Ratte scored the 87's lone marker.

 Meantime the New Liskeard Cubs lost a close 4-3 decision to the North Bay Trappers in a game also played on Sunday.

The Cubs scored all three of their goals in the first period and lead 3-2 heading into the dressing period after the first frame.

The Trappers scored twice in the second period and never looked back as neither team scored the rest of the game.

Aaron Tech, Andre Brock and Riley Dupuis scored the goals for New Liskeard.

Penalty troubles once again killed Legion as the Soo scored seven times on the power play. Legion also gave up a shorthanded marker.

The 87's next see action on Saturday October 13th when they play host to the Kapuskasing Flyers at 7:30 p.m. They then will host the Timmins Majors the next afternoon. Meantime the New Liskeard Cub's were hammered by the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves by a score of 12-1 on Friday evening.

The Wolves got out of the gate quickly in this contest scoring five times in the first period. They then scored twice more in the second period and five more in the third period. The Cub's lone goal came off the stick of Jacob Bedard. The Cub's next see action this upcoming Friday when they host the Timmins Majors at the New Liskeard arena.

 If you take that 6-0 away it wasn't that bad of a game, a 3-1 game so I think we can play with them better than we can with Sudbury.

"I'm looking for a couple of closer games and maybe stealing a couple of points."

Through their first five contests the team has taken far too many penalties and this is an area of the game that Belecque and his staff are continuing to speak to the players about.

"It's still working on the discipline and you have to ignore what's going on around you penalty wise. You have to just suck it up and live with it. That's part of the game and you have to get through those things. If you are going to win, that is what you have to get through."

From the players' perspective, they are feeling good after Sunday's win.

Trevor Deneault who scored a hat trick in the contest says the win was a real confidence booster.

"Getting our first win and going into the weekend, it will give us a lot of confidence."

He also feels that he and his teammates can be competitive against the Stars.

"He have to start skating from the get-go.

" I think we can play with them, their confidence is down from that big loss to the Sudbury." As for the goaltending duties this weekend, both Starter Matt Madden and backup Kierin Duquette will see action.

"Kierin will get a shot a one of the games this weekend for sure. I probably would have started him in Kap had we would have won the game against North Bay but you have to go with your number one (goalie) that has three years experience in triple "A". I have faith in Kierin but you have to wait for the right time to put him in and hopefully he does well and then hopefully we can start playing him more." If anyone has taken the trip to the Soo, they know it's an extremely long ride, especially one a bus. Belecque says however the team does have a plan to help combat the multiple hours of just sitting."

"We'll have a couple of pit stops along the way, probably in Temagami and Sudbury for a bit so we can get out and stretch our legs and have a bite to eat." We should get in their around 4:30 p.m. so that will give us a little time to get ready in our rooms and then go down to the rink."

"We just told them to keep battling back and keep digging; work for the puck and they seemed to do a good job."

And the encouragement of the coaches seemed to spur on the players as goals by Trevor Deneault and Chris Walraven got the team back to within one.

However the momentum was killed a short time later when 87's Captain Shane Dub‚ was called for checking from behind.

The Trappers took full advantage of the penalty and added another goal giving them a 5-3 lead after two periods.

In the third period Legion seemed to shake off their frustration and goals by Stephan Landry and Jordan Turbide tied the contest at 5-5. But the comeback fell short when North Bay scored their sixth marker to seal the victory.

Overall Belecque felt the team did play their best game to this point, but added that they still have to be more disciplined.

"I agree (but) still there were a lot of penalties.

"The guys have to be more disciplined.

"But with the circumstances, being down three goals, I feel that the guys put in a lot of effort."

Throughout the contest the 87's seemed to be becoming more comfortable with the systems that their coaches have been teaching them and Belecque agreed.

 "They still have a little bit more work.

"Bill (Enouy) is helping with the powerplay and they are listening to him.

"We're working on a couple of different ones and tonight it should they are actually picking it up in practice."

He added that it was good to see a well-balanced scoring attack.

"Yes, its not just one guy. Everybody is contributing and we are coming along."

Last season the 87's beat North Bay in the first encounter between the two games.

That game was on the Trappers home ice at West Ferris arena.

The teams went on to split their season series and Belecque feels that with the loss at home maybe it will mean they team will win when they head down to the Bay.

After the disappointment of the loss Belecque said the players were anxious to play Kapuskasing on Sunday.

The Flyers are also winless and have been the victims of extremely lopsided losses, but Belecque said the staff was cautioning the team not to go into the game overconfident.

"They are in the same boat as us.

"They are 0-4 and they are at home. We'll be coming off the bus and we'll have to play hard."

After Sunday's contest with Kap, the 87's next see action this upcoming weekend when take the long bus trip to Sault Ste. Marie for a two-game set with the North Stars.

He adds however that they have to maintain their composure level even at times when they feel they are being unfairly penalized.

"The kids have to understand that referees are human like anybody else and they are going to call what they think they see and you have to learn to adapt to it."

He points out that the staff is working with the players on "team building" in order to help the players to get to know each other better and it will, hopefully, allow them to gel a little quicker.

As for Saturday's contest Belecque says that while the Trappers are very good he feels his club can compete against them.

Currently the Trappers are winless themselves, dropping their first two games of the campaign.

And as far as the Flyers are concerned Belecque says the 87's can't take anything for granted.

The Kapuskasing squad has been the recipient of some lop-sided losses but the coach knows that the flyers will be hungry to get their first win.

He knows that the team will have to compete for the two points and they can't expect at least two points out of the weekend.

One positive note for the 87's this weekend is that they will be playing for the first time with a full bench. Defenceman Joe Raimondo who was injured during the pre-season will make his regular season debut and Steph Landry who was sidelined after the Timmins game will also be in the line-up.

Saturday's game at the complex is scheduled for the usual 7:30 p.m. start time. The game on Sunday goes at 1:00 p.m. at the Sports Palace.

After these two contests the team will prepare for a weekend set in Sault Ste. Marie on September 29th and 30th.