TEAM HISTORY
1st Season in NSJRCHL: 2005-2006
The Clare Lions Jr C Hockey Team were accepted in the NSJRCHL in the 2005-2006 hockey season. At the time, the league was comprised of two divisions: West Division that included Clare, Barrington Ice Dogs & Valley Keiths. The Yarmouth Raiders had taken a 1 year leave of absence. The Central Division included North Shore Storm, Fundy Phantoms, New Waterford Jets and East Hants Penguins. The Lions finished the season with a record of 9-13-2-0 for 20 points. The team was led by Marc Deveau with 23 points in 16 games and the schedule was made of 24 games. The Lions lost to Barrington in the division final and the Ice Dogs went on to win the NSJRCHL championship vs first year New Waterford Jets in a best of 5 game series.
2nd Season in NSJRCHL: 2006-2007
In the 2006-2007 season, the league grew from 7 teams to 9 teams with the addition of the
Yarmouth Admirals in the
West Division along with
Colchester Crunch (now
Harbour Crunch) and the transfer of the
East Hants Penguins to
Halifax Thunder. The
Lions added several key players to their line up, and finished the season with a 20-4 record in regular season led by Ryan Gallant who was named NSJRCHL regular season MVP and top scorer and the team finished in top spot in the
West Division. The team went on to sweep both best of 5 game divisional playoff series, beating the
Valley Keiths and the
Barrington Ice Dogs. The
Lions faced the
New Waterford Jets in the NSJRCHL final, going the distance in the best of 5 game series, unfortunately coming on the losing end in New Waterford. The
Lions thanked overagers Marc Deveau and Kyle Cuvelier.
3rd Season in NSJRCHL: 2007-2008
The 2007-2008 season saw the league grow once again, from 9 to 11 teams with the addition of
Avon River Rats in the
Central Division and
South Shore Wild in the
West Division. The schedule grew from 24 to 30 games. The
Lions finished the regular season with a 25-3-2 and first place in the
West Division for a second consecutive season. The team swept the
Valley Keiths in the first round 3 games to none, but eventually lost to rival
Barrington Ice Dogs 3 games to 1 after a very controversial series. The
Ice Dogs went on to lose to the
Harbour Crunch in the NSJRCHL final 4 games to 1. The
Lions thanked overagers Shawn Bernard and Jordan O`Leary.
4th Season in NSJRCHL: 2008-2009
In the 2008-2009 season, the
Lions continued in their development and finished 1st overall in the NSJRCHL with a record of 28 wins, 1 loss and 1 overtime loss for 57 points and first place in the
West Division for a 3rd consecutive year. The
Lions swept the
Valley Keiths in the first round 3 games to none, but eventually lost to rival
Barrington Ice Dogs for the second consecutive year in the West Division Final 3 games to 2 after taking a 2-0 series lead. The Barrington moved on to face the
Avon River Rats in the NSJRCHL Championship beating them 4 games to 2.
In a sudden turn of events, the
Tignish Aces who were to represent PEI decided not to participate and were replaced by the
Clare Lions at the Maritime North Hockey Championship in Barrington NS from April 2 to 6, 2009. . The Clare squad beat the
Hampton Hurricanes (NB) in their first game 5-4 on Thursday afternoon. On Friday, the
Lions beat the
Qikiqtani Elks (Nunavut) 8-2, and then lost to the host
Barrington Ice Dogs 7-5. On Saturday, the
Lions tied the Avon River Rats (NS) 5-5. On Sunday, the
Lions beat the River Rats in the semi-final 5-3 and lost to Barrington in the championship game 4-1 in front of 1400 + fans. The
Lions thanked overagers Peter Evans, Ryan Gallant, Alexandre Poirier, Joel German & Justin LeBlanc.
5th Season in NSJRCHL: 2009-2010
The 2009-2010 Season saw many changes to the
Lions . In total, 10 new faces joined the line-up. The
Lions went on to their 4th consecutive West Division Regular Season Title, with a record of 22 wins, 5 losses and 1 overtime loss good for 45 points. The
Lions swept the Valley Fuelers in Round 1 of the West Division Semi Final. Round 2 saw history repeat itself for the 3rd consecutive year, as the
Barrington Ice Dogs defeated the
Lions in a Best of 7 Game Series 4-2 for the West Division Title. Barrington moved on to lose to the
Eastern Shore Jr Mariners in the NSJRCHL Championship Best of 7 game series 4-3 with 4 games going into overtime, including game 7. The
Eastern Shore Jr Mariners went on to win the Maritime North Jr C Hockey Championship in Fredericton NB after finishing in 1st place of the Round Robin, and beating
Shediac - Cap Pele Predators in the Championship Game. The
Lions thanked overagers Jacques Lombard, Adrien Flynn, Marcel Landry and Colin LeBlanc.
The Lions were selected as the host team for the 2011 Maritime Northern Canada Jr C Hockey Championship in Church Point NS from April 6 to 10, 2011.
6th Season in NSJRCHL: 2010-2011
The 2010-2011 Season was a big year for the entire organization. Clare dedicated the season in memory of long-time fan Lisa Thibodeau who passed away tragically on Friday August 27th 2010 at home at the young age of 30. The entire Lions team attended the funeral ceremony and swore to return to her grave site with the Maritime Northern Championship Trophy. The Lions did not disappoint.
The Lions finished the Regular Season in 2nd place in the West Division and 3rd overall in the NSJRCHL with a record of 24 wins, 3 losses and 2 overtime loss good for 50 points behind league leading Chester Clippers. The Lions played divisional rival the Barrington Ice Dogs in Round 1 of the West Division Semi Final going the distance in 5 games as Clare won the series 3 games to 2. Round 2 saw the Lions take on the Chester Clippers in a Best of 7 Game Series for the West Division Title. The Lions gave up a 3-1 series lead to Chester who ended up moving on to lose to the Eastern Shore Jr Mariners in the NSJRCHL Championship Best of 7 game series 4 games to 1. The Eastern Shore Jr Mariners moved on to the Maritime Northern Canada Jr C Hockey Championship in Clare, with the Lions beating them in the Championship game 5-1 in front of a jam packed arena. This season also marked the final season for coaches Michel Paix, Tyler Smith, Marc Deveau as well as General Manager Francis Robichaud. The Lions thanked overagers Renel Deveau, Stephane LeBlanc, Mario Blinn and Marc Macintosh.
7th Season in NSJRCHL: 2011-2012
The 2011-2012 season saw several new faces in the Lions organization. Lionel LeBlanc was named the new team president and Leon Comeau was named as the new team's General Manager, replacing Francis Robichaud who had served as the team's GM and President from 2005 to the end of the 2011 season. Rejean LeBlanc was named the new team VP replacing Remi Belliveau and Phil Doucette was named the new team Treasurer replacing Simon Robichaud. Furthermore, a new coaching staff was announced, former team captain Renel Deveau, along with Ryan Grant and Owen Rogers. Shortly thereafter, Renel Deveau left the team and Ryan Grant did not return to the team in January. Ryan Gallant was named as the new head coach along with Owen Rogers as his assistant.
The season had been a learning one for the Lions who started with only 6 of 19 returning players. By the January deadline, the Lions had 8 returning players; overagers Nick Comeau, Deven Kennedy, Marc Lombard & Rejean Deveau along with Anthony LeBlanc, Jean Marc d'Entremont, Dylan Saulnier and Alex Dennis. The Lions finished the regular season with a 11-13-4 record good enough for 24 points. The Lions went the distance in a 5 game series on the road in Brooklyn versus the Avon River Rats coming from a 2 games to 1 deficit. In the 2nd Round, Clare played arched rival Barrington Ice Dogs. Clare bested Barrington at home in Church Point in 6 games on a Alex Dennis overtime winner with 2.4 seconds left in the 1st Overtime for the West Division championship. In the League Championship series versus the Chester Clippers, the Lions were swept by the dominant Chester club. This marked the last playing season of goaltender Nick Comeau, Rejean Deveau, Deven Kennedy & Marc Lombard.
8th Season in NSJRCHL: 2012-2013
The 2012-2013 season saw more changes on all facets of the team. Leon Comeau stepped down as GM as was replaced by Andy Stoddart. A new coaching staff was announced as Nessim Hanna took over as Head Coach, and Owen Rogers and Leon Dugas were named as his assistants. The
Lions continued to see new faces in their line up, and ended the season with a 11-17 record good for 22 points and 6
th overall in the new 8 team league wide division.
Lions Captain Dylan Saulnier lead the team in scoring with 24 goals and 17 assists in 20 games. Newcomers Bennett Munroe, Chris Dewinter, Brandon Challoner helped out veterans Saulnier and Alex Dennis offensively as well as Anthony LeBlanc and Matthew Belliveau. The
Lions lost in the 1
st Round of playoffs to the Barrington Ice Dogs in 4 games in a best of 5 game series.
This marked the 1
st season that all 9 teams participated in 1 league wide division:
Chester Clippers,
Shannon Huskies,
Spryfield Silver & Black Attack,
Amherst Colts,
Fundy Rhinos,
South Shore Wild,
Barrington Ice Dogs,
Avon River Rats and
Clare Lions. Chester beat Barrington in the NSJRCHL Championship 4 games to 1. The
Clippers moved on to Maritime Northern Canada Jr C Hockey Championship in Hampton NB, and lost in the Championship game to the host team,
Hampton Hurricanes. The
Lions thanked overagers Anthony LeBlanc, Dylan Saulnier, Stan Bishara and Jean-Marc d’Entremont.
9th Season in NSJRCHL: 2013-2014
The 2013-2014 season marked a very difficult season for the
Lions in the NSJRCHL as they finished the year with a 1-27 record. 2
nd year staff of Nessim Hanna, Leon Dugas and Andy Stoddart faced several challenges all season long. The Lions played the
Amherst Colts in the 1
st round of playoffs losing all 3 games in a best of 5 game series.
The NSJRCHL saw the
Chester Clippers and
Shannon Huskies take year leaves thus bringing down the number of member teams down to 7:
Spryfield Silver & Black Attack,
Amherst Colts,
Fundy Rhinos,
South Shore Wild,
Barrington Ice Dogs,
Avon River Rats and
Clare Lions.
The
Lions thanked overagers Nick Bourque, Mike Smith, Josh Heroux, Alex Dennis and Jesse Jelfs. Andy Stoddart resigned as General Manager following the season and Stéphane LeBlanc stepped down as the team's President. The board of directors thanked coaches Nessim Hanna & Leon Dugas. A new board of directors was announced at the team Annual General Meeting on April 15th 2014. Francis Robichaud was named President/General Manager, and the new directors were elected. For full director information,
please click on this link.
10th Season in NSJRCHL: 2014-2015
The 2014-2015 season will mark the team's 10 Year Anniversary in the NSJRCHL. The team is excited and is rebuilding and looking forward to being competitive once again and competing for the League Championship. For more information, please contact General Manager Francis Robichaud at
francis.robichaud@gmail.com or (902) 769-7381.
Past Directors
Stéphane LeBlanc - President (2012-2014)
Blair Mellor - Director (2005-2014)
Michel Paix - Director (2011-2014)
Andy Stoddart - General Manager (2012-2014)
Alphonse Doucet - Director (2012-2014)
Marc Lombard - Director (2012-2014)
Richard Deveau - Director (2007-2012)
Remi Belliveau - Vice President (2007-2010)
Paul Emile LeBlanc - Director (2007-2010)
Simon Robichaud - Treasurer-Secretary (2005-2010)
Francis Robichaud - President (2005-2010)
Lionel LeBlanc- Director (2007-2013) / President (2011-2012)
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