High school hockey heating up

The Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes have returned to the high school boys hockey scene in a big way. Competing in the SDSSAA ranks for the first time since the 2009-2010 season, the Als have provided some early season evidence that they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Tuesday afternoon at the Carmichael Arena, Notre-Dame thumped the Horizon Aigles 9-1 as defenceman Bailey Emond and forward Nick Marion each recorded a hat trick.

Sebastien Desormeaux, Christian Larivière and Nickolas DeSantis rounded out the scoring for CND, with captain Dustin Thériault countering with the only goal for the Aigles.

It would be a much stiffer test come Wednesday afternoon in Val Caron as Notre-Dame and the Confederation Chargers played to a 2-2 draw in a fast-paced, highly entertaining affair.

Tyler Rivest broke the ice for the home side, jamming home a shot in tight at 12:44 of the first period, with the Alouettes bouncing back in the middle frame, taking a 2-1 lead on goals from Nick Marion and Sebastien Desormeaux.

The Chargers had a glorious chance to deadlock the game early in the third when Brandon Dumouchel was awarded a penalty shot, only to be turned aside by an outstanding glove save from Alouettes' netminder Alex Rheault.

The Confederation lads would eventually pull even with the teams playing four on four as Nick Dombek drilled home the equalizer, beating Rheault through a crowd. The CND goalie finished with 28 saves in the match-up, with Brody Laberge making 20 saves of his own at the other end of the rink.

Confederation blanked Horizon 6-0 in action last week, with Laberge and Josh Kneblewski sharing the shutout for the Chargers. Brendyn Sauvé scored three times to lead the way, with solo markers coming from Jordan Michael, Aaron Campbell and Carter Hanson.

The Chargers and Alouettes are both among the 10-team field competing at the 35th Annual Lively District Invitational Hockey Tournament this weekend, with the St. Charles Cardinals, Franco-Cité Patriotes and Central Algoma Huskies also expected to contend.