The Casselman Vikings welcomed the Embrun Panthers to the J. R. Brisson Complex on Thurs., Feb. 21, in the CCHL2. The Vikings’ forward, Evan Boucher (27) roofs this puck past the Panthers’ goalie, Joshua Ivanski to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Boucher and Vikings went on to take the game 6-2. Moore photo
CASSELMAN— The Casselman Vikings closed out the regular season with three games this past weekend as they welcomed the Embrun Panthers on Thursday night, travelled to Carleton Place on Friday night to take on the Canadians and entertained the Perth Blue Wings on Sunday night.
Blue Wings 5 Vikings 0
The Casselman Vikings welcomed the Perth Blue Wings to the J. R. Brisson Complex on Sun., Feb. 24, in the CCHL2. The Vikings went into the game with second place locked up and rested a few key players for this game; adding four affiliated players including the goalie in their place.
The Blue Wings scored the only goal of the first period at 4:40 and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Blue Wings added another single in the second period at 9:34 and took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
The Blue Wings added three more goals in the final frame at 10:29, 13:02 and 16:58 taking the game 5-0. The shots on goal were even at 28. Suffering the loss in the Vikings’ goal was Zachari Racine making 23 saves. The Vikings now set their sights on the Ottawa West Golden Knights for the first round of the playoffs.
Vikings 5 Canadians 2
The Casselman Vikings travelled to the Carleton Place Arena on Fri., Feb. 22, to take on the Canadians in the CCHL2. The Vikings were playing out their final two games of the season, which really didn’t mean anything other than trying to gain momentum heading into the playoffs against the Ottawa West Golden Knights.
The Canadians scored the lone goal of the first period at 12:39 and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Vikings tied the game when Jason Cossette scored his 17th goal of the season from Mathieu Talbot and Mikael Bissonnette, just 31 seconds into the second period.
The Vikings took their first lead of the game as Gabriel Rousselle scored his ninth of the season from Brandon Legare and Talbot at 1:59. The Vikings took a two-goal lead when Evan Boucher scored his 10th of the season from Rousselle and Louis Chabot at 17:20. The Vikings took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Vikings made it 4-1 when Joel Hunt scored his 30th of the season from Chabot and Cossette at 11:48 of the third period. The Canadians got one back at 16:36 but the Vikings closed out the scoring into an empty net as Chabot scored his 13th of the season.
The Vikings took the game 5-2 picking up their 32nd win of the season. The Vikings outshot the Canadians 36-29. Picking up the win in Vikings’ goal was Mathieu Chenier making 27 saves.
Vikings 6 Panthers 2
The Casselman Vikings welcomed the Embrun Panthers to the J. R. Brisson Complex on Thurs., Feb. 21, in the CCHL2. The Vikings went into the game with a chance to nail down second place in the Martin Division with a win.
The Vikings opened the scoring just 1:49 into the first period as Evan Boucher scored his ninth goal of the season from Brady Cloutier and Pierce Britton taking a 1-0 lead. The Vikings made it 2-0 when Shawn Patterson scored his 13th of the season from Joel Hunt and Adam Paquette at 3:50 and took a 3-0 lead at 9:17 as Frederick Gagnier scored his 20th of the season from Cloutier and Ryan Williams.
The Vikings took a four-goal lead when Brandon Legare stripped the Panthers’ defenseman of the puck and went in alone on the Panthers’ goalie, Joshua Ivanski, draining his ninth of the season unassisted.
The Panthers got one back with 1:46 remaining in the opening frame as Marc Brosseau scored his 15th of the season from Jacob Lamont and Ethan Brown. The Vikings took a 4-1 lead into the first intermission.
The Panthers cut the deficit in half when Connor Drost scored his 12th of the season from Brandon Paquette at 3:56 of the second period. The Vikings restored a three-goal lead when Louis Chabot lit the lamp for the 12th time this season from Evan Landry and Samuel Mattie at 12:22.
The Vikings added a power play goal at 15:44 as Patterson scored his second of the game and 14th of the season from Gabriel Rousselle and Hunt taking a 6-2 lead into the second intermission. The teams battled to a scoreless third period as the Vikings took the game by a score of 6-2, clinching second place and the number two seed for the playoffs.
The Vikings outshot the Panthers 39-23. Picking up the win in the Vikings’ goal was Nick Campbell making 21 saves and suffering the loss in the Panthers’ goal was Ivanski making 33 saves.
Up next
The Casselman Vikings welcome the Ottawa West Golden Knights on Sun., March 3, for game one of the Martin Division semifinal at 7:30 p.m. and travel to the Barbara Ann Scott Arena in Ottawa for game two on Mon., March 4, at 7:20 p.m.
