2005 RBC Cup

Hawksbury Hawks

The Hawkesbury Hawks have understood the meaning of adversity since early in the season.

The Central Junior Hockey League and Fred Page Cup champions will have to deal with it again at the RBC Royal Bank Cup national junior A championship.

Hawkesbury will be minus captain and leading scorer Martin Beaulne at the Royal Bank Cup scheduled May 7-15 in Weyburn, Sask.

“Martin ruptured his spleen in the last game at the Fred Page Cup (May 1 in Yarmouth, N. S.),” said Hawkesbury general manager/coach Eric Veilleux.

“He ran into the boards attempting a body check. We thought he had fractured ribs.

“He wanted to stay on the bench and encourage the guys. I asked him if he could win a crucial faceoff at the end of the game. He went out and won that, then won another key faceoff.”

Beaulne showered and dressed, then climbed on the bus for the long ride back to the Ottawa Valley. But when he wasn’t feeling well, the bus turned around and he was taken back to a Yarmouth hospital.

“Team spirit is the biggest reason we’re here now,” said Veilleux.

“This is a very committed team. We have gone through adversity many times.

“Martin will be motivation for the guys for the next few games.”

The Hawks had a .500 record Jan. 3 and were two points ahead of two teams tied for seventh and eighth place overall, in a 10-team league. They were 14-5-1 and had three overtime losses in 23 games to complete the regular schedule and have continually overcome obstacles throughout the playoffs.

“We faced elimination twice against the (two-time champion) Nepean Raiders,” said Veilleux. “We played five games in five nights at the Fred Page Cup.

“I don’t know where they found the energy.”

The lessons learned in a comeback 4-3 win in the best-of-seven league final and in Yarmouth should assist the Hawks in Weyburn. They will play their opener May 8 against the Alberta Junior Hockey League and Doyle Cup champion Camrose Kodiaks.

Hawkesbury rebounded with four straight wins in the Fred Page Cup, after losing 2-1 to the Yarmouth Motormart Mariners of the Maritime Junior ‘A’ Hockey Legue to start the four-team tournament. The Hawks outshot Yarmouth 46-25 and won 4-3 in the final.

“We played close to a flawless game in the final,” said Veilleux. “We stuck to our game plan and did what we had to. The players sacrificed their bodies throughout the tournament.”

Right winger Mathieu Picard, defenceman Nicolas St. Pierre and goalie Mitch O’Keefe will be counted on for their leadership qualities to make up for Beaulne’s absence.

O’Keefe gained Royal Bank Cup experience with Nepean last year in Grande Prairie, Alta. He has 24 wins since joining Hawkesbury in the second half of the season, including 14 playoff wins.

Right winger Picard, 19, has 53 goals and 97 points in 81 games overall. He led league playoff scorers with 16 goals and 34 points in 20 games.

“Mathieu is a great skater,” said Veilleux. “He is on the first power-play and penalty-killing units and plays every second shift in the last five minutes.”

St. Pierre, 20, has 69 assists and 77 points in 73 games overall. He led league playoff scorers with 22 assists in 20 games, was voted the most valuable player in the Fred Page Cup and is the quarterback on the power play.

“Last season the scouts said he wasn’t tough enough,” said Veilleux. “He is a skilled defenceman and smart player. He is strong and is rarely beaten one-on-one.”

Beaulne had 42 goals and 106 points in 79 games overall, which will be difficult to replace. But Tom Mele, centre Massimo Alfieri and right winger Mathieu Calabrice have 37, 33 and 29 goals, respectively, and centre Brett Way has 65 points in 60 games.

Hawkesbury is 16-9 in the playoffs, 44-28-3 and has seven overtime losses in 82 games overall. The Hawks have benefitted from Veilleux’s excellent tutelage for three seasons.

“I was well coached myself,” said Veilleux, who accumulated 174 assists and 280 points in 447 games in seven full seasons as a 5-foot-7, 148-pound centre in the American Hockey League. “I had (Atlanta Thrashers’ head coach) Bob Hartley for nine straight seasons.”

Perhaps that partially explains why he’s teaching juniors in the Robert Hartley Sport Complex in his mentor’s hometown.   

Please check the CJAHL web site at www.cjahl.com for all your Canadian junior A information