The Blues hosted the 15th annual Barrow Varsity Hockey Tournament this past weekend. The lineup of teams proved to provide a competitive tournament and it certainly didn't disappoint. Last year's Blues were not able to bring home the championship, so it was important to this year's team to return the Barrow Trophy to its home.

The Blues started the tournament against Le Sommet and had what Coach Beaudoin and many of the spectators would have described as their best start and ultimately their best game to date. They got up early and never looked back burying Le Sommet 6-0. Their next game pitted them against Collège de Lévis. This game proved to be far more of a challenge as the Blues cames scoring early but then giving up two goals to fall behind for the first time in the tournament. The Blues challenged but were not able to tie it with. With less than a minute left Lévis sealed the deal with an empty netter to take the game 3-1. Now in a do or die game at 5:30 pm, the Blues faced Cleveland HS and once again did not come out with their A game. The Blues fell behind 3-0 and all looked lost as the Blues looked to be heading to a friendly competition on Sunday. The Blues, however, had other ideas and fought hard to get themselves back in the game, scoring two in the second, one by Marc- Antoine Goulet and the second by captain PJ Bujouves. With just seven minutes left in the third, the Blues were able to tie it up on a goal by Artem Meshcherin with assists going to William Lee and Jack Tucker. Overtime solved nothing as the teams went into a shootout and once again Joe Howe shut the door allowing the Blues a shoot out win. 

This left the Blues in second in their division and pitted them against an undefeated Ulysse - a familiar opponent who they had both beaten and been beaten by earlier in the season. The semifinal did not disappoint with the Blues taking a 2-0 lead and the team from Montreal surging back to tie it up with just eight seconds left in the second. The tying goal especially disappointing as the Blues actually won the draw in their own end but were them outmuscled in front of the net. The third started with all of the momentum going against the Blues, but in true UCC fashion, the Blues responded with a blast from the point by Tucker MacIntosh to take a 3-2 lead. Ulysse was not done as they pushed hard to tie it up and with two minutes left pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. It was fitting that at the 1:39 mark William Monzione fired a puck from the UCC end and found the back of the net to seal the game for UCC and complete his hat-trick - an outstanding performance by the speedy 5'9" forward.

The final was anticlimactic as Academy A21 somehow managed to knock out Collège de Lévis in the semis on the other side of the draw. Pumped for a challenging final, the Blues completely outmatched A21 and captured the tournament title with a 7-1 victory.

The Blues played well in their first tournament starting out with a 4-0 victory over Sommet. Their next game pitted them against Everest and while the team didn't play their best hockey they did come away with a decisive 6-2 victory. On day 2 they played College Andre Grasset and they battled hard to take a 2-0 win earning themselves a berth in the semifinals against the host school, Ulysse Academie. Despite outshooting their opposition the Blues disappointingly fell 2-1 vs. their hosts and were ousted from the tournament.

Game Photos

The Blues faced off against Loyola High School this weekend with a home and home series. The first game featured a couple of call-ups to round out the roster as the fall season wraps up. The game started off quickly with a tally by Ryan Moore on a hard one-timer that found the back of the net before the LHS goaltender could move. It is the kind of goal that the Blues will be expected from the big senior. The Blues scored a second when Ethan Williams snapped a shot from the point that was deftly tipped by James Moffat in the high slot past the LHS keeper. It was Moffat's first career Varsity goal. Anthony Lemieux rounded out the scoring as the Blues topped Loyola 3-0. Joe Howe was strong in net with not much work notching his second shutout in his first three games.

The Blues bid adieu to Loyola High School after a home and home series where they outscored the opposition 6 - 1. While this differential seems rather decisive, it was anything but today. The Blues came out flying in the first half of the first period and appeared to be en route to a lopsided victory. Unfortunately, the wheels fell off at that point as a 1-0 lead soon evaporated into a 1-1 tie. Credit should go to Loyola who played a stronger game today and pushed hard for the win. The Blues began to turn it back on midway through the third but needed help from the referees in the form of a penalty shot with just 90 seconds remaining to take the lead. Will Page made no mistake wristing home the winning goal. Seconds later with the LHS net empty Zacharie Dumas slotted his first of the season straight off the draw. The end result appeared far more comfortable than the game. The Blues will head to Ulysse for their first tournament this weekend - leaving on Thursday.

The Blues hosted their first of a home and home against Loyola High School on Saturday afternoon. The game was a quiet affair with a number of call-ups to round out the roster as the fall season finishes up. The Blues got on the scoreboard in the first with a strong one-time goal from Ryan Moore that the LHS goaltender had no chance on as the puck was in the back of the net before the goalie even had time to start his move across the net. It was the kind of goal that the Blues have come to expect from the senior forward. The Blues went ahead by two when Ethan Williams snapped a shot from the point the was deftly tipped in the high slot by call-up James Moffat for his first career Varsity goal. The game finished 3-0 as LHS never really looked to threaten the Blues. Joe Howe recorded his second shutout in three games to seal the deal

Loyola departed for Quebec early this afternoon after a two-game series where the Blues outscored LHS 6-1. Today's game, however, was not uneventful. The Blues started off well and looked as though they would run over Loyola for a lop-sided score. This did not turn out to be the case, as after the first half of the first period the wheels began to fall off and the game devolved into a sloppy affair. The Blues did hold onto a one-goal lead for a period of time, but this did not remain. Loyola scored in the second to even the game and that is the way it stayed until there was a minute and a half left in the game. While the Blues did up their play at the halfway point of the third, they need to rely on a penalty shot conversion by Nicholas Payer with 90 seconds left to take the lead. Shortly after the penalty shot Zacharie Dumas scored his first of the season right off the draw into an empty net - they are all worth one point at the end of the season. Dumas provided a cushion that allowed the Blues to escape with a respectable win. The Blues will head to Ulysse for their first tournament of the season on Thursday. They will need to elevate their play if they hope to make it to the late rounds.

Game Photos

The Blues faced off against the TCS Bears this afternoon in their first preseason game. While the game was not the same polished performance that they finished last season with, there were definitely bright spots. The Blues netminder Joe Howe finished the day with a shutout including a couple of strong saves near the end of the third. The Blues showed flashes of brilliance in both the first and second, but could not solve the Bears goalie who had a very strong two periods. A goalie change for the Bears in the third proved to be just what the Blues needed as they scored in the first minute with Anthony Lemieux cleaning up a goal left near the crease for the first goal of the season. 

The Blues breakouts and sustained pressure were much better in the third and this resulted in their second goal, a nice shot by Artem Meshcherin.
The Blues play again next Sunday and hope to see fans in the stands.