Jason Buma

Rockets say good-bye to four overagers
The North Dundas Rockets travelled to the Arena Jean Paul Sabourin on Wed., April 4, to take on the Papineau Vikings for Game 7 of the best of seven NCJHL championship. The Rockets took a 2-1 leading the third period but allowed six goals in a span of 5:23 and lost the game 8-3. After the disappointing loss, the junior careers of four Rockets players came to an abrupt halt. The Rockets’ captain, Bryden Van Kessel, finished third in playoff scoring with 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points, alternate captain, Shawn Simms, finished the playoffs with eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points, Chris Marchand also finished with eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points and goalie Jason Buma, who finished the playoffs with five wins and three losses and a goals against average of 3.54, all completed great junior careers with the Rockets.     File photos

Bryden Van Kessel

Jeff Moore
Record Staff
GATINEAU—The North Dundas Rockets made their last road trip of their season win or lose as they headed to Gatineau for Game 7 of the best of seven NCJHL championship on Wednesday night.

Chris Marchand

Vikings 8 Rockets 3: The North Dundas Rockets travelled to the Arena Jean Paul Sabourin on Wed., April 4, to take on the Papineau Vikings for Game 7 of the best of seven NCJHL championship. The Rockets jumped out to a 2-0 series lead after taking Game 1, 3-2 and Game 2, 5-4 in overtime. The Vikings took Game 3 with a convincing 6-2 victory and evened the series with a 5-4 overtime win in Game 4.

Shawn Simms

The Rockets took Game 5, 4-2 and had a chance to put the Vikings away in Chesterville on Sun., April 1, but it was the Vikings who forced a Game 7 with a 4-1 victory. After two days of wondering where and when the game would take place due to lack of available ice time in Gatineau and surrounding area, it was decided the game would be at the Arena Jean Paul Sabourin in northern Gatineau.

The Rockets also brought their fans as a bus was chartered and a bunch drove themselves in an ugly, windy, snowy evening. The Vikings surprised the Rockets scoring just 10 seconds into the first period as Jacob Osborne scored an unassisted goal taking a 1-0 lead. The Rockets tied the game at 2:13 when Shawn Simms pounded one to the back of the net from Justin Lefebvre.

Neither team was able to take the lead before the opening frame wound down settling to take a one-draw into the first intermission. The Rockets took their first lead of the game when Simms dialled in his second of the game at 9:56 of the second period from Bryden Van Kessel to make it 2-1.

The Rockets took the slim 2-1 lead into the second intermission. The Vikings tied the game at two when Simon Hupe scored at 6:04 of the third period from Joel Gagnon and Danny Plourde Grenon. After the halfway mark of the third period the Rockets’ face oustanding odds as the Vikings scored six consecutive goals in a span of five minutes and 23 seconds.

The Vikings’ first goal came off the stick of Justin Labrosse at 12:14 from Hupe to retake the lead, the second from Mathieu Lapointe at 12:54 from Jeremy Trudeau, the third from Maxime Tremblay at 13:57 from Osborne, the fourth from Osbourne as he scored his second of the game at 15:30 from Plourde Grenon and Anthony Laprade, the fifth at 16:53 from Lapointe scoring his second of the game from Plourde Grenon and Mathieu Des Ruisseaux and their sixth at 17:37 as Laprade scored from Tremblay as the Vikings amassed an 8-2 lead.

The Rockets added one with 2:16 remaining as Connor Roth fired one home unassisted but it wasn’t to be this season for the Rockets as the Vikings took the game 8-3 capturing their third championship in four years. Picking up the win in the Vikings’ goal was Yannick Gosselin and suffering the loss was Reilly Tondreau.

It was a tough loss for the Rockets especially for the four graduating players, Jason Buma, Chris Marchand, Shawn Simms and Bryden Van Kessel whose junior careers end but they should take pride in the way the team has developed over the past couple of years.