The host Clare Lions opened a first period lead and then widened it to defeat the Eastern Shore Jr. Mariners who were in the tournament as Team Nova Scotia after winning the province’s Junior C title earlier this month.
Clare trounced the Junior Mariners 9-1 in the tournament’s opening game April 6, but were expecting a tougher match for the title.
“Eastern Shore played a hell of a game,” said Lions general manager Francis Robichaud.
Clare opened a 2-0 first period lead, added a single in the middle frame to lead 3-1, and two more, including one into an empty net, to seal the game.
Clare goalie Nick Comeau, who earlier had been named to the tournament all-star team, added another stellar performance in the championship game to earn MVP honors.
Clare dominated throughout the five-day tournament, which included teams from Charlottetown, Richibucto, N.B., and Nunavut.
The Kivalliq Canucks from Nunavut were perhaps the surprise of the tournament.
“If they had a few more scorers, they could have beaten the Richibucto Bears,” Robichaud said. “They were certainly the hardest working team.”
In the final seconds of Saturday’s semi-final, won 9-3 by Clare, fans gave a standing ovation to the Canucks.
“Their coach said they had never had anything like that,” Robichaud said.
Chad Tapiana of the Canucks picked up the ‘most sportsmanlike’ award at the tournament.
Marc MacIntosh of the Clare Lions was named the tournament MVP.
Picked for the all-star team with goalie Nick Comeau were his Lions teammates Renel Deveau and Alex Dennis, along with
Brett Baker and Ryan Morris of the Eastern Shore Jr. Mariners and Brandon Paul of the Richibucto Bears.
