A last min. goal gave the Pembroke Lumber King a 3-2 win over the “host” Nepean Raiders in the 2017 Fish Findlay Classic, held in Shawville, QC.
Pembroke forward James Buckley batted a puck by Raider netminder Liam Soulière with 27 seconds left in regulation after a back and forth battle between the two teams.
The Raiders’ special teams went to work on the night, with Michael Thomas (second) and Kari Belec (10th) adding markers with the man advantage.
Soulière was stellar between the pipes, making 39 saves in defeat to earn him the game’s second star. Jake Smith stopped 34 Nepean chances for the win.
The annual event regularly sees the Raiders take on an opponent in Shawville (pop. 1664), with proceeds from the night going to Shawville District Minor Hockey Association.
“One of the things I remember the most growing up as a kid was going to that rink to see the Jr. B team play, because my grandpa worked for them. Just being there in that environment, they’d call you a rink rat,” said Nepean head coach Darcy Findlay.
“You don’t realize the amount of lessons you learn from the people you’re surrounded by and that’s what Shawville is. It’s all about the community, tight knit.”
Exact numbers are still being worked out, but non-perishable food donations will go towards 200 families in the Shawville area.
“I thought it was a good evening, a decent crowd, it looks like we’ll raise a lot of money and that’s what matters. It was another successful event this year,” said Findlay.
It’s nice to get people to gather at the rink like they used to do when the junior team was there. Everybody knew what you were doing on Fri. night in Shawville. For this to be a success just proves there should be a junior team there and that Shawville’s a hockey town.”
The Raiders will host the league-leading Carleton Place Canadians on Wed.
(Photo: Kristina Tam)
