Ursuline Lancers' Brooke Ludolph, centre, tries to take the puck from McGregor Panthers' Jen Dienesch, right, as goalie Erica Bennett watches during the Kent high school girls hockey final yesterday at Thames Campus Arena. The Lancers won 5-1. The Ursuline Lancers looked like the little engine that couldn't just a few weeks ago, losing four of five games to end the regular season in the Kent girls hockey league. 

The Lancers got back on track for the post-season, however, and beat the McGregor Panthers 5-1 yesterday in the championship game at Thames Campus Arena. " The last two games, when the Kent title's been on the line, we've performed at our best," Ursuline head coach Brad Twigg said. "It's a tribute to the character of the kids." Lancers goalie Courteney Corbiere could only shake her head when asked about the turnaround. " I don't even know myself," she said. "Earlier I was playing kind of bad in the season. Then, out of nowhere, I started playing very good. Weird, but it's amazing." Corbiere was 54 seconds away from her second straight playoff shutout when Shannon Milkovic scored for the Panthers. The Grade 11 netminder watched the past two Kent finals from the bench as the Lancers lost to the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks. Her inexperience concerned Twigg when this season began. He isn't worried anymore, not after she was "unbelievable" in their 3-0 semifinal upset of the Golden Hawks and again in yesterday's final. "Those were the two best performances I've seen her make in her hockey career," Twigg said. She was well-supported by the Lancers' solid defensive play and relentless fore checking. Four goals came after they forced turnovers. Their fore checking hasn't always been so strong, said Grade 9 forward Katie Balkwill, who scored twice. "It really came alive when we started the playoffs because I think everybody has the drive to win," she said. After a scoreless first period, the Lancers potted four goals in the second. Balkwill scored at the 43second mark and put in a rebound almost five minutes later for a 2-0 lead. Brooke Ludolph added a breakaway goal. Then a wide-open Alena Fiala sent a one-timer from the slot past helpless Panthers goalie Erica Bennett for a 4-0 lead. The last three goals were scored in less than three minutes. "They outplayed us," Panthers head coach Trevor Martin said. " They killed us in the second period. No matter where we were, they battled us all over the ice." Hoffman scored early in the third period for a 5-0 lead. She finished with three points, as did Ludolph. After playing their home games in the tight confines of Erickson Arena, the Lancers are 2-0 in the playoffs on the bigger ice surface at Thames Campus Arena. "We played a lot better on the bigger ice because it gives us a lot more room," Balkwill said. "We're a really fast team, so it worked out well for us." Martin hoped the Panthers could take advantage of the larger rink, too, but they couldn't elude the Lancers. " We have some really good skaters," he said. "They (the Lancers) did such a good job of clamping down." Ursuline hosts Petrolia Lambton Central next Thursday at 3 p. m. at Thames Campus in the SWOSSAA 'AAA-AAAA' semifinal. McGregor visits the Lambton County representative for the SWOSSAA 'A-AA' semifinal next week.

Ursuline Lancers' Leanne Finley and Rachel King try to block Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks' Elizabeth Vanderborn during the Kent 'AA-AAAA' junior girls volleyball final last night at Chatham-Kent Secondary.  The Lancers won in five sets (25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11).

Spencer Steele enjoyed his best offensive game of the season at the perfect time for the Ursuline Lancers. Steele scored the game's first 11 points and finished with 29 in a 59-47 win over the McGregor Panthers in the Kent 'AA-AAAA' junior boys basketball final Saturday at Ursuline. "Spencer Steele had an unbelievable game, the best game he's had for us," Lancers head coach Ed Freeburn said. "... He was just on fire." Chad Reeb added 13 points and Zack Dowd scored six. The Lancers relied on a balanced attack all season. No one scored 20 in a league game until Steele exploded in the final. " It truly was a team win for them, but Spence had a great game," Freeburn said. Nate Hamilton scored 15 points for the defending champion Panthers, Eric Maier had nine and Luke VanDusen added eight. The Lancers used their full court pressure, led by guards Tristan Robinet and Tre Gallagher, to lead 22-7 after the first quarter. The Panthers got within nine points on a few occasions, but the Lancers wouldn't let them get any closer. "The boys have really worked hard and bought into defence first," Freeburn said. Reeb and Gallagher were the only players back from last year's Kent runners-up. Ursuline visits Sarnia Northern on Wednesday in the SWOSSAA 'AAAA' semifinal. McGregor hosts Sarnia St. Christopher at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the SWOSSAA 'AA' semifinal.

The Ursuline Lancers had no interest in history until they made it Saturday night. Ursuline Lancers' Bill Hastings, right, drives past McGregor Panthers' Aaron L'Ecuyer during the Kent 'AAAAAA' senior boys basketball final Saturday night at Ursuline. The Lancers led by double digits almost the entire second half and beat the McGregor Panthers 52-39 at Ursuline for their fifth consecutive Kent ' AAAAAA' senior boys basketball title. "Even though we were considered the favourites, McGregor's been a good team all year," Lancers forward Mitch Koehler said. " We had to play our best in order to win and that's what we did." Ursuline joined McGregor as the only schools to win five straight Kent senior boys championships at the 'AA' level or above. The Panthers did it from 1994 to '98 and again from 2000 to '04. The Lancers didn't talk about their four other banners at practices this week. Their concentration was all on Saturday. "We wanted to take care of this game and only worry about this game," said Koehler, who scored 11 points. " We didn't want to focus on the streak." Two-time league MVP Max Allin had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Lancers. Bill Hastings also scored 14. 

Holding the championship trophy after the game, head coach Jim Dunlop finally reflected on all the Lancers have done in the past five seasons. " It's pretty special," he said. " It's pretty special that a few have done this every year. Mitch, Max and Bill are graduating without ever losing a senior championship." Allin and Hastings won four senior finals. Koehler won three. The Lancers led all the way Saturday. They were up by 21 points before the Panthers went on a late 10-0 run. " You can always play better," Hastings said, " but we played good and I think McGregor put up a good fight." McGregor head coach Blake Handsor was happy with the Panthers' effort against a bigger, more experienced Ursuline team that was unbeaten in the Kent season. " They're a great team," Handsor said about the Lancers. " Max makes them go and he's surrounded by very, very good players." Bryce Cumming and Joe Hastings each added four points for Ursuline. While McGregor was in its 10th straight Kent senior final, many of the young Panthers were playing in one for the first time. Nerves may have contributed to their early 10-2 deficit in front of 500 fans. " We were counting on that, too," Dunlop said. " We talked about that. It's a tough scenario. All our guys have experienced it. And we hoped our experience was going to come in handy." The Lancers led 17-6 after the first quarter, but the Panthers played them even in the second for a 27-16 halftime score. The Panthers were within nine points in the third before Allin scored six straight in Ursuline's 9-0 run that put the game away. The Lancers have been inconsistent this season, Koehler said, but they're at their best in big games. "When the pressure's on, that's when we play better," Koehler said. That was bad news for the Panthers, who had no margin for error against a team that won by 13 and four points in their two regular-season meetings. "If they play at their best and we play at our best, then they're going to win," Handsor said. Jeremiah Hamilton led McGregor with a game-high 15 points, Aaron L'Ecuyer scored eight, and Mitch Wilson and Dan Eitutis had six apiece. " There's a lot of young players on that team," Bill Hastings said. " They really surprised us this year with how well they played. I'm looking forward to coming back the next few years and watching them in the Kent final." The Panthers lose only Wilson and Eitutis to graduation. Before the game, Max Allin was presented with the league's MVP award by his father, Dave Allin. The newly named Dave "Grouch" Allin Award honours the longtime coach and teacher for his contributions to the local basketball community, especially at the grade-school level. Bill Hastings, Cumming, Wilson, L'Ecuyer and Chatham Kent's Aurelio Cunha were named Wendy's Restaurants first-team all-stars. Eitutis received the coaches' choice award. Ursuline hosts Sarnia Northern at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the SWOSSAA 'AAAA' semifinal.

McGregor visits Sarnia St. Christopher for the SWOSSAA 'AA' semifinal Thursday.

The Ursuline Lancers dethroned the queens of the Kent high school girls hockey league yesterday. The Lancers ended the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks' bid for a fourth straight championship with a 3-0 upset win in their semifinal. "They played remarkable," Ursuline coach Brad Twigg said. The Golden Hawks were undefeated in the regular season, while the Lancers entered the playoffs after losing four of their last five games. "Our team's been Jekyll and Hyde," Twigg said. "There's been days we look like we could beat the Olympic team and days we couldn't beat a tyke team." The Lancers are making their third straight trip to the final. They'll face the second-place McGregor Panthers in a best-of-three series next week. The Panthers edged the third place Blenheim Bobcats 3-2 in the other semifinal. In the boys playoffs, the Golden Hawks beat the Lancers 7-5 in a semifinal. The defending champion Wallaceburg Tartans host the Lambton-Kent Cardinals in the other boys semifinal today at 3 p.m. 

GIRLS Lancers 3, Golden Hawks 0 At Thames Campus Arena, Courteney Corbiere posted the shutout for the Lancers, who were fourth in the regular season with a 3-4-1 record. Chatham-Kent's league-leading offence was shut down by Ursuline's fore checking, Twigg said. "They couldn't get the puck out of their own zone," he said. "We hammered them." Jessalyn Martin scored the winning goal early in the first period and Amy Hoffman added an insurance goal with 20 seconds left in the second. Brooke Ludolph sealed the win with an empty-netter. She also had two assists. The Golden Hawks won the last game between the rivals 80 on Jan. 7 despite losing star forward Hokey Langan to the Canadian under-18 team. 

BOYS Golden Hawks 7, Lancers 5 At Memorial Arena, Dane Fox led the second-place Golden Hawks with two goals and one assist. Tyler Harwood added one goal and two assists. Graham Smyth, Phil Burgess and William Fraser each had a goal and an assist, Laine Poirier also scored and Dylan Medd had two assists. Tyler Clark had one goal and two assists for the third-place Lancers, who'd won five in a row. Nick Hastings chipped in with one goal and one assist. Ben Van Heck, Jesse Allen and Josh Laird also scored.

Eight players scored for the Ursuline Lancers in a 12-5 win over the Blenheim Bobcats yesterday at Erickson Arena in a Kent high school boys hockey quarter-final. Steve Houston led the third place Lancers with two goals and three assists. Shayne Steele and Tyler Clark each had two goals and two assists, and Josh Laird added two goals and one assist. Jason DeHoey chipped in with one goal and three assists. Brandon Dube had a goal and two assists, and Zack Howard and Jordan King also scored. John McKillop scored two goals for the sixth-place Bobcats and set up the other three. Brian Muckle had two goals and two assists, and Spencer McGuigan added a goal and two helpers. The Lancers play the Chatham Golden Hawks in a semifinal at 2 p.m. Thursday at Memorial Arena. Lambton-Kent and McGregor face off in the other quarterfinal at 2 p.m. today at Erickson Arena. The winner visits Wallaceburg at 3 p.m. Friday in a semifinal.

The Ursuline Lancers led by 14 points after the first quarter and beat the McGregor Panthers 50-40 in yesterday's regular-season finale in the Kent 'AAAAAA' junior boys basketball league. Spencer Steele scored a game-high 19 points for the Lancers, who finished with a 7-2 record. The Lancers tied the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks for first place, but Ursuline took the tiebreaker by winning two of three in the season series. The Golden Hawks defeated the Wallaceburg Tartans 72-49 in the other game. McGregor beat Ursuline 41-32 in the midget league.

JUNIOR Lancers 50, Panthers 40 At McGregor, Zack Dowd scored eight points and Thomas Tran had six for the Lancers, who led 16-2, 25-16 and 37-26 at the quarters. Kyle Wicks tossed in 15 points for the Panthers (4-5), Dylan McTavish scored 11 and Eric Maier had eight. Ursuline hosts Wallaceburg and McGregor visits Chatham-Kent in the semifinals Thursday. The final will be Saturday, Feb. 21. 

Golden Hawks 72, Tartans 49 At CKSS, John Nguyen led the Golden Hawks with 20 points, Thomas Bednarik had 18 and J.C. Emery added 15. The Golden Hawks were up 19-9, 39-21 and 51-36 at the breaks. Dekota Aquash had a game-high 23 points for the Tartans (0-9), Brandon Vilaranda scored 10 and Sahil Nagpal had five. 

MIDGET Panthers 41, Lancers 32 Brandon Jenner scored 13 points for the Panthers (3-3), Oshane Daley had 12 and Nathan St. Pierre added six. Kirk McKillop led the Lancers (0-6) with 10 points, Devon Pinsonneault had eight and Andre Hosfeld scored seven. The Panthers were ahead 10-6, 18-10 and 22-18 at the quarters. McGregor hosts Ursuline in Thursday's semifinal. The winner visits Chatham-Kent (6-0) for the championship next Saturday.

Kyle Brady earned the shutout as the Ursuline Lancers beat the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks 3-0 yesterday in the Kent high school boys hockey league. The Pain Court Patriotes defeated the Blenheim Bobcats 6-1 in the other game. Lancers 3, Golden Hawks 0 At Erickson Arena, Josh Laird scored twice in the Lancers' fourth straight win, Steve Houston had the other goal and Jason DeHoey notched two assists. The Golden Hawks (9-32) remain in first place with 20 points, one ahead of the Lancers (9-4-1) and the idle Wallaceburg Tartans (9-21). However, Chatham-Kent and Ursuline have no regular-season games left, while Wallaceburg has two. The Tartans visit the Lambton-Kent Cardinals on Thursday and host the Ridgetown Royals on Friday. Patriotes 6, Bobcats 1 At Blenheim, Chris France had two goals and one assist for the Patriotes (2-12-0). Tim Tetreault also scored twice, Richard Corrente added a goal and an assist, and Jon Derynck had the other goal.

Max Allin scored 33 points as the Ursuline Lancers clinched first place in the Kent 'AA-AAAA' senior boys basketball league with a 54-50 win over the McGregor Panthers last night. After leading by double digits in the first half, the Lancers trailed in the fourth quarter until Allin came through in the clutch. He sank back-to-back three pointers to put Ursuline back in front after McGregor took a 4240 lead. It was the regular-season finale for the Lancers, who finished with a 4-0 record. They don't play again until they host the Kent final Saturday, Feb. 21. The Panthers dropped to 12 with the loss. They visit the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks in their finale Wednesday. In the junior league, Chatham-Kent beat Wallaceburg 58-39 and Ursuline defeated McGregor 4533. McGregor downed Ursuline 41-33 in the midget league. 

SENIOR Lancers 54, Panthers 50 At Ursuline, Mitch Koehler and Bryce Cumming each scored five points for the Lancers, who led 15-4 after the first quarter and 25-16 at halftime. The Panthers rallied for a 3535 tie entering the fourth. Mitch Wilson led the Panthers with 18 points and Aaron L'Ecuyer scored 14. 

JUNIOR Golden Hawks 58, Tartans 39 At CKSS, Thomas Bednarik poured in 30 points for the Golden Hawks (5-2). Dylan Bell and J.C. Emery each scored 10. Josh Stokes scored 22 for the Tartans (0-7), Dekota Aquash had eight and Brandon Vilaranda had five. Lancers 45, Panthers 33 Tre Gallagher scored 13 points and Tristan Robinet had 12 for the Lancers (5-2). They led 10-9, 23-16 and 32-28 at the quarters. Luke VanDusen had 10 points for the Panthers (4-3) and Kyle Wicks added seven. 

MIDGET Panthers 41, Lancers 33 Brandon Jenner scored nine points and Andy Brown had eight for the Panthers (2-2), who led 14-0 after the first quarter. Andrew Hosfeld scored a game high 18 for the Lancers (0-5).

Ursuline Lancers' Nick Hastings, centre, is guarded by Tim Foy, left, and goalie Brent Paxton of the Pain Court Patriotes during a Kent high school boys hockey game yesterday at Erickson Arena. 

The Lancers won, 5-2. The surging Ursuline Lancers beat the Pain Court Patriotes 5-2 yesterday for their third straight win in the Kent high school boys hockey league. The third-place Lancers will try to extend their streak today against the first-place Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks at 3 p.m. at Erickson Arena. The Golden Hawks gained sole possession of first place by tying the McGregor Panthers 22 in yesterday's other game. The Golden Hawks had been tied for the top spot with the idle Wallaceburg Tartans. 

In the girls league, Chatham-Kent beat McGregor 1-0 by forfeit. 

BOYS Lancers 5, Patriotes 2 At Erickson Arena, Josh House and Jesse Allen each had one goal and two assists for the Lancers (8-4-1). Jason DeHoey, Josh Laird and Nick Hastings also scored. Chris France and Andre Trudell replied for the Patriotes (1-12-0). Golden Hawks 2, Panthers 2 At Memorial Arena, William Fraser and Dane Fox scored for the Golden Hawks (9-2-2). Travis Wiper and Matt Milkovic countered for the fourth-place Panthers (6-5-3) in their regular season finale.

The Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks beat the McGregor Panthers 45-32 last night to create a three-way tie for first place in the Kent 'AA-AAAA' junior boys basketball league. Chatham-Kent and McGregor share the top spot with the Ursuline Lancers, who beat the Wallaceburg Tartans 44-18 in the other game. The three co-leaders have 42 records. Wallaceburg is 0-6. At McGregor, Thomas Bednarik and Zack Podzorski each scored 14 points for the Golden Hawks. Nate Hamilton led the Panthers with 11 points and Kyle Wicks had eight. The teams were tied at 17 at halftime. The Golden Hawks outscored the Panthers 28-15 in the second half. At Wallaceburg, Tre Gallagher scored a game-high 13 points for the Lancers and Spencer Steele added nine. Brandon Vilaranda led Tartans with 12 points. The Lancers led by four at halftime, then outscored the Tartans 23-2 in the third quarter.

Two days lifted them to third place in the standings. The Pain Court Patriotes beat the McGregor Panthers 2-1 in the other game. Lancers 7, Bobcats 0 At Blenheim, Josh House, Josh Laird and Guillaume Lapensee also scored for the Lancers (7-4-1). Kyle Brady earned the shutout. The Bobcats (4-7-1) are tied for the sixth and final playoff spot with the Ridgetown Royals. Patriotes 2, Panthers 1 At Thames Campus Arena, the Patriotes' win was their first in the past two Kent seasons. The names of their scorers were not submitted. Brooks Shepley scored for the fourth-place Panthers (6-4-2), who fell one point behind the Lancers.

Bryce Cumming scored 21 points as the Ursuline Lancers beat the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks 66-42 last night to stay undefeated in the Kent 'AA-AAAA' senior boys basketball league. Max Allin added 13 points for the first-place Lancers (3-0). Ursuline also beat Chatham-Kent 3929 in the junior game. Chatham-Kent won the midget game 50-37 by outscoring Ursuline 19-6 in the fourth quarter. 

SENIOR Lancers 66, Golden Hawks 42 At Ursuline, Joe Hastings scored 12 points for the Lancers and Matt McDonald had eight. The Lancers led 24-10, 31-24 and 4935 at the quarters. Aurelio Cunha scored 12 for the Golden Hawks (0-2) and Noah Hanemaayer added nine points. 

JUNIOR Lancers 39, Golden Hawks 29 Chad Reeb led the Lancers (3-2) with nine points. Spencer Steele and Tre Gallagher had eight apiece. Thomas Bednarik tossed in a game high 16 points for the Golden Hawks (3-2). The Lancers were up 7-5, 18-9 and 26-15 at the quarters. 

MIDGET Golden Hawks 50, Lancers 37 Ryan Wolfe scored 20 points and Alex Rance had 16 for the Golden Hawks (40). Conner Parker led the Lancers (0-4) with 11 points and Devon Pinsonneault scored seven. The Lancers rallied from a five-point halftime deficit for a 31-31 tie after three quarters.