Jr. B Fishermen begin 2023-24 regular season with a rare loss

The Selkirk Fishermen have won a lot of Capital Region Junior Hockey League games over the years as they have claimed three consecutive titles.

But it was a different story on Sunday as Selkirk began its 2023-24 regular-season with a rare loss.

Selkirk was surprised 5-2 by the St. Malo Warriors at the Selkirk Recreation Complex.

“We had lots of new guys in the lineup and a lot of new people experiencing what Junior ‘B’ hockey is all about,” said Fishermen head coach Chris Poponick, noting that St. Malo has a good, experienced team this season that will be tough to contend with. “We have a new goaltender who just learnt that Junior ‘B’ hockey players shoot the puck really hard. I had a lot of different guys sprinkled in (the lineup). But, all in all, we played well for half of the game.”

St. Malo grabbed a 3-1 first-period lead and then went ahead 5-2 after 40 minutes. It took the Warriors just 5:05 into the game to take a 2-0 lead.

“Giving up the quick ones didn’t help the matter at the start of each (of the first two periods) but we battled for the most part,” Poponick said.

Theo Courchene and Kasen Andrushko scored for Selkirk.

St. Malo goals came from Ashton Dubois (two), Damon Johnson, Zach Maynard, and Brady Gregoire.

Two of the Warriors’ goals came on the power play. 

Logan Moskal was in goal for the Fishermen, making 27 saves in the losing cause.

At the other end, Warriors’ netminder Jozse Gauthier-Urmos was solid in goal with a 33-save effort.

“Jose played great. If we would have scored on half of our good scoring opportunities, it would have been a tie or a win for us,” Poponick said. “He did everything he needed to do to keep them in the game and that was the difference.”

Before the game, the Fishermen honoured last year’s championship team. All six players from that squad (who are not with the team this year) were on hand for the home opener.

Selkirk will visit the Beausejour Comets on Friday (8 p.m.) at the Sun Gro Centre. The Fishermen will then host the Comets on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Selkirk.