(Posted 7:30 p.m., Jan. 4)
Cumberland Grads welcome 2010 with big win over Cornwall Colts
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Cumberland Grads defenceman Kevin Lough holds off a Cornwall Colts forechecker as he heads up the ice during second period action on Sunday. Fred Sherwin/Photo

The Cumberland Grads kicked off the New Year with an impressive 5-2 win over the second place Cornwall Colts on Sunday in front of nearly 200 fans at the Navan Arena.

Despite not playing in over two weeks, the well-rested Grads showed no sign of rust in jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game against a Cornwall team that was coming off a 2-1 loss to the Kemptville 73's last Wednesday.

D-man Kevin Tansey got the Grads off to a fast start with his fourth goal of the season at the 1:01 mark of the first period. Sean Bamford's third of the season a minute and 34 seconds later would give the Grads the early 2-0 lead.

The Colts eventually responded with a goal from Sebastian Meltzer with 6:34 left in the period.

Fabian Walsh's second of the season at the 2:26 mark of the second stanza would re-establish the Grads two goal cushion, but it would only last until the 13:11 mark of the second period when Eric Lalonde banged home a big juicy rebound to narrow the Grads' lead to 3-2.

The Colts very nearly tied the game with 1:35 left in the period when Tyson Spink spun around and fired a shot from the left faceoff circle which Grads' goalie Adam Mohr managed to stop by sticking out his right pad using pure reflexes.

As the action went back down the other end, Kevin Lough ripped a high rising shot from the point that hit Colts goalie Alex Chretien in the chest and dropped down into the crease where Mark Borkowski was able to bang it into the net to put the Grads back in front by two goals heading into the third period.

Walsh had a golden opportunity to put the game away early in the third, but he lost control of the puck on a breakaway while being harassed by Guy Leboeuf who was given a slashing penalty on the play.

The final blow was delivered by Jason McCarthy who banged home a rebound after Chretien failed to hang on to the puck after making a spectacular glove save off a blistering point shot from Stephen Farrell.

With the win the Grads remain in the hunt for fourth place with three other teams, all of whom are separated by just two points. The Gloucester Rangers currently occupy fourth place after crushing the Hawkesbury Hawks 12-0 on Sunday. The Ottawa Jr. Senators are one point back with a game in hand and the Nepean Raiders are two points back with two games in hand.

The Grads are tied with the Jr. Sens with 47 points, but they've played three games more than the Raiders, two games more than the Jr. Sens and one game more than the Rangers.

The team will have a great opportunity to string a couple of wins together this weekend when they play the Carleton Place Canadians in Carleton Place Friday night and then return home to play the last place Hawkesbury Hawks on Sunday. Game time is 3 p.m.

(This story was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local business partners.)

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