Matthew Behrens
editorial@pdgmedia.ca

The Carleton Place Junior A Canadians hockey team is headed to Terrebonne, Quebec, seeking to capture the Fred Page Cup after their fourth consecutive Bogart Cup victory in the Central Canada Hockey League championships last Sunday.

“We’re the only franchise in all of Canada to win that Fred Page Cup three times, and hopefully this will be a fourth, and we’re also the only franchise in Canadian history to win the national finals three years in a row,” Team owner and coach Jason Clarke told town council on April 25.  Should the Canadians advance to the finals, they will be seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive RBC Cup later this spring in Cobourg, Ont.

While Clarke spoke of the pride his team feels with its winning streak, he mentioned that many players at the Junior A level are working to receive scholarships.  This past season, his players have earned over $1 million in scholarships to attend colleges and universities where they can pursue higher education while still playing hockey.

“We have a lot of players from Carleton Place that have a lot of pride in our community, and we appreciate the staff’s work at the arena to provide us a place to hang our hats,” Clarke said. “We hope we can get a little more support to upgrade our facilities to keep up with the big dogs out west, so we have a franchise that’s a destination where people want to come and play and live in Carleton Place.”

Clarke also informed council that the Canadians will take the former Clarence Creek Beavers Junior B franchise under their wing, which will be run as a not-for-profit organization.

Deputy Mayor Jerry Flynn praised Clarke as “an absolutely amazing coach and builder; your style of coaching absolutely works.”