Lions ripped by Cougars 7-3

Jr. C Lions remain in playoff hunt, three points behind St. Isidore Eagles.

nMORRISBURG – The Morrisburg Jr. C Lions hosted the Vankleek Hill Cougars at the Morrisburg arena January 15th, losing 7-3. The game marked a return to Morrisburg for former player Ronnie Boots, who was traded at the January 10th deadline to the Cougars.nnJosh DeSousa’s penalty for elbowing late in the first period put the Cougars on the power-play, a move that the team capitalized on. Marc-Antoine Doyon struck with 4:55 left in the first, beating Lions goalie Dean Gauvreau, Cougars led 1-0.nnFive minutes into the second period, the Cougars struck again  with a goal by Jonathan Leblanc, Cougars led 2-0.nnAnother power-play goal halfway through the second gave the Cougars a 3-0 lead.nnBrock Daze found the back of the Cougars’ net off a pass from Evan Mantha and Jordan Smail with 8:09 left in the period. Lions got on the scoreboard, trailing the Cougars 3-1.nnZach Leblanc cut the Cougars lead to one, scoring with 4:34 left in the second. Brian Landry and Patrick Landry had the assist. Cougars led the Lions 3-2.nnWith less than two minutes left in the second, Vincent Huneault, assisted by former-Lion Ronnie Boots, increased the Cougars lead to 4-2.nnJust 17 seconds into the third, Max Emond bumped the Cougars lead to 5-2.nnBoth teams earned a slew of penalties in the third. A scuffle between Lions’ forward Josh Primeau and Cougars’ forward Trystan Lavoie saw both bounced. Patrick Landry scored for the Lions with less than six minutes remaining.nnTempers continued to flair in the game after Doyon scored his second of the night for the Cougars to give them a 6-3 lead.nnLions’ forward Patrick Landry and Cougars’ defenceman Micholas Morin were tossed from the game with two minutes left for fighting.nnThe Cougars put the final nail in the game with an empty net goal, Cougars win 7-3.nnWith the loss, the Lions remain three points back of the eighth place St. Isidore Eagles and the final playoff spot.nnThe team will host the Papineauville Vikings Saturday January 21st  at the Morrisburg arena, puck drops at 7:30 p.m.nnThe Lions will host a pivotal game Sunday January 22nd, where they take on the St. Isidore Eagles, puck drops at 2:30 p.m.