La Broquerie Habs crowned CRJHL champions

It was clear the La Broquerie Habs weren’t going to let any opportunity to clinch a championship slip away.

Heading into game five of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League finals April 2 the team was up 3-1 on the Selkirk Fishermen and put together one of the most dominant first periods any team can play.

A glance at the stat sheet doesn’t do it justice, as the Habs seemed to win every single puck battle in the opening frame, building a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard, en route to a series victory in Selkirk.

“We came out hungry, we wanted to win it tonight,” La Broquerie head coach Dan Taillefer said after the game, with a custom wrestling belt made for the team placed over his shoulder.

“I think that was the best period we played all year. Overall today, everyone bought in… I told the guys the 50/50 battles are ours, and that’s what they did.”

Team captain Felix Asselin said the team had been running out of gas with the intense playoff schedule, but came through in game five.

“It’s just insane,” Asselin said.

“This morning we had a chat and just said tonight is the best hockey game we’re going to play and that anyone is going to see us play and I think we did that. We brought it home.”

The Habs finished the regular season in fourth place, twenty points behind league-leaders St Malo, which they upset in the semi-finals.

“Every win was a motivator,” Asselin said, reflecting on the team’s playoff run.

“We play for the guys in the locker room and I think that’s what kept us motivated, playing for each other… There wasn’t any other external motivator.”

Selkirk had finished three points ahead of the second-year franchise, but looked out-matched against a La Broquerie team that was peaking at the right time.

“I think we were building up to this,” Taillefer said.

“Throughout the year we were getting better and we saved our best hockey for last, which is what you want.”

Goaltender Jaxon Loewen picked the perfect time to get hot for the Habs. After a brilliant performance against St Malo in the semi-finals, as he only gave up more than two regulation goals in a single game, he sputtered against Selkirk, allowing three goals in the first four games of the series.

“We were definitely the underdogs this season, and it just feels amazing to win,” Loewen, the regular season’s top goaltender, said after the win.

That streak of giving up three would end in game five, as he stopped all 34 shots he faced on the night to clinch the CRJHL championship in style, pulling the net down onto the ice after the game after not letting a single puck hit the back of the net.

“I didn’t play my top game, but today I knew I was going to play to my expectations and I definitely did that,” Loewen said.

During game four of the final, he even let in a fourth goal, after whiffing on a dump in, but referees recognized there were still Selkirk players in the zone, and called the goal back for offside. The 20-year-old had a memorable season, as he got a chance to suit up for the Steinbach Pistons as they ran into goaltender injury problems, even getting a bit of game action before the regular players returned to the line-up.

“I’m aging out from regular junior, and I never thought I would get the day where I could play at that level of hockey,” Loewen said.

“It was just amazing.”

The Habs may have flipped the series in game four in La Broquerie March 31. After falling behind 2-1, they battled back to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. A Selkirk equalizer appeared to give the visitors some big momentum, but Luka Tetreault was able to corral a rebound on the powerplay to pot the winning goal with under two minutes to go, setting off massive celebrations inside the HyLife Centre.

Many of those fans made the trip to Selkirk to watch their home team add a junior hockey banner to the rink’s home walls.

“The whole buzz of the community has been amazing and we’re very happy we could pull this one off for everyone in La Broquerie,” Taillefer said.

“We wanted to be competitive right away and push for a championship. We maybe didn’t think it would come this quick, but obviously we’re super excited about that.”

The team hosted a celebration party with the community at the La Broquerie Hotel April 4.

For more photos of games four and five, including the post-game celebration, be sure to check out Carillon Sports Second Shots, published every Wednesday at thecarillon.com/sport.