CHRIS UHLIG

Win some – lose some, that seemed to be the theme for the bears this week. Carleton Place emerged from the den Tuesday night with a 4:1 win over the bears and asserted their legitimate status to the playoffs. The game itself turned out to be far from being remarkable, in fact the only thing that stood out (unfortunately in a negative sense) was the sheer number of penalties. At some point four Bears players had to share the cozy space in the penalty box and if this trend continues, the box will need a second story addition in the future. Noah Kinloch Varga, Caton Ryan, Loic Prudhome, and Bill Gourgon scored for the Canadians, the lone goal for the Bears happened at 3:58 in the second period by Lucas Culhane. Smiths Falls outshot their opponent as usual with 27 versus 18 shots on the net, but the Canadians were far more successful with their hit rate.

The Bears then saw another game Wednesday night in Carleton Place. One patron mentioned casually on Facebook: “Just don’t get sucked into their goon tactics.” And indeed, the players concentrated much more on actual game play than leisure time in the penalty box. While both teams were equally matched in shots on goal with 30 each, it was the Bears’ effort to bring about a 5:2 win this time. Shaymus Stevenson and Quinn Booth scored first, then Carleton Place took even with goals by Bill Gourgon and Loic Prudhomme, but Alec Hamady accomplished the game winning goal for the Bears late in the second period and Owen Watson and Lucas Culhane added two more scores in the third period for a 5:2 win.

Smiths Falls could finish this series in the Friday game. We hope to see you there.