(L-R) Veteran Lynx players Matthias Weistche, Riley Brunet, Carson Lockhart, Stéphane Philion and Mathias Drolet represented the North Division during the main event of the GMHL All-Star game. The north beat the south in this event with a final score of 14-4. Photo by Jason Steven. 
Young Guns: (L-R) West Nipissing Lynx players Alexandre Dubuc, Zach Major and Carson Laronde were part of the North Division’s Young Guns during the GMHL All-Star U18 game. They beat the South Division 15-2. Photo by Jason Steven.
On Tuesday, January 9th, local hockey fans were treated as the West Nipissing Lynx hosted the GMHL’s (Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League) all-star game at the Sturgeon Falls arena, for the first time ever. Over 275 fans from across the province braved the winter storm to see the league’s all-stars compete in a Young Guns (U18 2005-2008) game, followed by a skills competition and the main event featuring the league’s veterans (U21 2002-2004). With representation from each team in the league, the North faced off against the South, with several local players selected for the North teams. Lynx head coach Moe Mantha Jr. also served as coach for the Veterans North team.
The contest saw 8 Lynx players join in the action: in the U18 game, defenseman Zachary Major (#7 2006) and forwards Carson Laronde (#11 2005) and Alexandre Dubuc (#22 2005); in the U21 game, forward Matthias Weistche (#3 2002); and in the Open game, forwards Stephane Philion (#21 2002) and Riley Brunet (#89 2004 ), goaltender Carson Lockhart (#33 2003) and defenseman Mathias Drolet (#17 2004).
The first game saw the North Division Young Guns take down the South by a score of 15-2. Alexandre Dubuc and Carson Laronde both impressed with 2 goals and 2 assists each, while Zach Major shone with one goal and 4 assists.
In the Veterans game, the North dominated once again, taking down the South by a score of 14-4. This game saw Lynx forward Matthias Weistche with 4 goals and an assist, Stéphane Philion with 1 goal and 2 assists, Riley Brunet with 1 goal, and Mathias Drolet with 3 assists. Goaltender Carson Lockhart was unstoppable between the pipes, posting a shutout during his half of play time.
After the exciting all-star games, the Lynx continued their regular season action with two away games against Le Bécard de Senneterre over the weekend. The first game, on January 12th, ended with a 9-4 victory for the Lynx. Despite the win, the game took an unexpected turn when forward Riley Brunet was taken to hospital due to a fight on the ice. The incident even caused the game’s live stream to be paused while the situation was resolved, and the Lynx put out a comment on their Facebook page. “As many of you may have witnessed this evening’s unfortunate incident that occurred with forward #89 Riley Brunet, we want to assure all of our Lynx family that he is doing ok and on route to the hospital for further evaluations,” the post said. By the second game on Saturday the 13th, Brunet was thankfully back in the stands to cheer his team on to their 10-3 victory over Senneterre.
According to their weekend recap, 3 of the 4 Lynx goaltenders saw play over the weekend, #34 Deric Rivet, #1 Vladislav Morosyuk, and #33 Terry Bradley. Many players also added to their score sheets. #2 Jason Bob Salt scored his first Jr goal with a blast from the point in game 2 and added an assist; #10 Caleb Boylan scored his first of the season in his first game back from injury; #18 Nathan Fisher added 5pts; #8 Frank Ekholm took 5pts; #3 Matthias Weistche logged 6pts; #21 Stephane Philion and #22 Alex Dubuc both earned 7pts.
The West Nipissing Lynx are now preparing for their next battles this coming weekend. “Our boys get the much-needed day off to recover from a tough 48hrs and get back to work this week to face the Bradford Rattlers Friday at home, and away Saturday vs the Almaguin Spartans,” said the club’s Facebook page shortly after the Sennetere games.
Hockey fans who can’t make it to cheer in the stands can still watch the games live online at gmhl.tv.
