Ducharme ‘The Charm’ ends Regals’ hopes

Chirs Clegg
South Peace News

An ex-Manning Comet sunk the High Prairie Regals’ hopes of a North Peace Hockey League championship March 6 at the Sports Palace as he led his Lakeland Eagles to the improbable upset in the seventh and deciding game in the East Division Semi-Final. Roland ‘The Charm’ Ducharme scored three goals and added a pair of assists in the Eagles’ 9-6 win. “The guys played a super hockey game,” says Eagles’ coach Jim McLean. “It was a total team effort from start to finish.” The Regals, first place finishers in the North Peace Hockey League’s East Division with a 18-7-0-1 record, fell to the fourth place Eagles and their 8-16-2-0 record as a result. Justin Paul gave the Regals a 1-0 lead in the first period as he scored on a breakaway only 3:34 into the contest. Ducharme’s power play goal on a rebound with just over five minutes left in the period tied the game but Claude Cunningham’s high wrist shot restored the lead before the end of the period. In the second period, Lawrence Anderson’s point shot on a power play at 1:19 gave the Regals a 3-1 lead and it looked like the club would be advancing. Not so. After that the Regals began to break down with alarming regularity as their forecheck disappeared and the Eagles were allowed to freewheel. Brent Anderson converted a three-on-two break and Eli Cunningham’s power play goal tied the game 3-3 before seven minutes more had elapsed. T.J. Cunningham converted a brilliant cross-ice pass to give the Regals the lead but momentum was clearly changing as the Eagles kept coming back – a theme all too evident in the series from the upstart Eagles, who lost the first two games and trailed the series 3-2 after an embarrassing 16-3 blowout in Game 5. “We faced adversity throughout the course of the series,” says McLean. “The key was that our players never threw in the towel, even after what transpired in Game 5.” Before the end of the period, Scott Laderoute tied the game as he was left all alone in front of the net and converted a point shot off the Sports Palace’s lively backboards. Ducharme’s second goal of the night – again on a power play – gave the Eagles their first lead 5-4 after two periods. In the third, Jay Anderson tied the game just under two minutes in. After that, it was all Eagles. James Tallman restored the lead 6-5 and just over three minutes later Ducharme scored his hat-trick goal on a terrible turnover in the Regals’ end and the Eagles were home-free. Daniel Belcourt and Ryan Hicks added goals to make it 9-5 before Lawrence Anderson’s second goal of the night ended the scoring. Ironically, the 16-3 blowout game turned the series around. Whether it was a case of overconfidence on the Regals’ part or whether it served as a wake up call for the Eagles, one may never know although McLean was sure the latter was the result. “That game was definitely an eye-opener for us,” says McLean. The Eagles rebounded to win Game 6 on home ice 5-3 setting up the deciding game, where the Eagles clicked on three of six power play chances while the Regals scored once in three chances. The Eagles were outshot 55-43 in the game including 24-10 in the final period. Ryan Penchuk recorded the win in net while Cannon Cunningham suffered the loss. The Eagles have since split the first two games of the East Division Final against the Peace River Stampeders. The Eagles lost the opener 9-2 in Peace River March 9 but rebounded for a 7-4 win in McLennan March 10.

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