The Casselman Vikings welcomed the Winchester Hawks to the J. R. Brisson Complex on Sun., March 1, for game one of the best-of-three CCHL2 wildcard playoff. The Vikings’ forward, Samuel Lacroix centres the puck to teammate, Jason Cossette (18) as the Hawks’ goalie, Lucas Devries tries to corral the loose puck. The Hawks’ defenders, Graeme Buffone and Bradley Wells help out their tender. The Vikings got to Devries scoring four goals taking the game 4-1 and a 1-0 series lead. Moore photo

CASSELMAN—The Casselman Vikings opened up their playoff season as they welcomed the Winchester Hawks on Sunday night for game one of the best-of-three CCHL2 wildcard playoff.

Vikings 4 Hawks 1

The Casselman Vikings welcomed the Winchester Hawks to the J. R. Brisson Complex on Sun., March 1, for game one of the best-of-three CCHL2 wildcard playoff. The Vikings finished the season in fourth place in the Martin Division. In the CCHL2, the fourth and fifth place teams face off to see who has the right to move on to take on the division’s top team, in this case, the Ottawa West Golden Knights, in the first round. The Hawks finished the season in fifth place, four points behind the Vikings. 

The Vikings opened the scoring when Frédérick Gagnier scored his first goal of the post-season from Mathieu Talbot and Adam Paquette just 1:21 into the first period. The Vikings took a two-goal lead when Alexandre Charlebois scored his first of the playoffs from Talbot at 6:27. The Vikings took a 

2-0 lead into the first intermission. 

The Vikings made it 3-0 when Shawn Patterson scored his first of the post-season from Talbot and Samuel Labre on the power play. 

The Hawks got one back when Marco Haw lit the lamp for his first of the playoffs from Kyle Kuehni and Ryan Nielson on the power play at 7:51. The Vikings restored a three-goal lead when François Drouin sniped one for his first of the post-season from Brendan Watson and Patterson just 38 seconds later. The Vikings took a 4-1 lead into the second intermission. 

The Vikings outshot the Hawks 13-7 in the final stanza but neither team was able to score as the Vikings took the game 4-1. With the win, the Vikings can finish the Hawks off in their next matchup. They hold a 1-0 series lead. 

The Vikings outshot the Hawks 30-29. Picking up the win in the Vikings’ goal was Nicholas Campbell, making 28 saves, and suffering the loss in the Hawks’ goal was Lucas Devries, making seven saves on 11 shots. He was replaced by Cole Defazio who made 19 saves on 19 shots.

Up next

The Casselman Vikings travel to the Joel Steele Community Centre in Winchester tonight Wed., March 4, for game two of the best-of three CCHL2 wildcard playoff at 7:45 p.m. and if necessary welcome the Hawks to the J. R. Brisson Complex for game three at 7:30 p.m.