The CCHL Champion Carleton Place Canadians pulled out a hard fought 5-2 victory over the host Woodstock Slammers in the opening game of the 2016 Fred Page Cup.
Captain Jordan Larson earned Player of the Game honors for the Canadians as he scored twice and added an assist. Bryce Van Horn (1g, 3a), Marcus Josep (2a), and Nicolas Carrier (2a), also had multiple point efforts.
The Canadians trailed Woodstock 2-1 after the 1st period of action as the host Slammers came out fired up, catching the Canadians by surprise. Van Horn had the lone first period marker as he wired a snap shot from the slot on the powerplay after taking a perfect feed from Larson.
In the second period, Van Horn decided to return the favour as he beat a Slammers defender wide on the rush before sliding the puck to a trailing Larson who burried a quick shot past Woodstock goaltender Benjamin Patt. Just a few minutes later Larson would feed a pinching Braedyn Asselstine from behind the net who would bury a seeing-eye shot past Patt to put the Canadians ahead 3-2 at the intermission.
In the third period, the Canadians would find themselves on the penalty kill but would find a way to make a positive out of it as the crafty Nicolas Carrier hunted down a lose puck before finding teammate Connor Merkley alone in front of the net to put Carleton Place up 4-2. Larson would add his second of the game into an empty net to seal the victory and begin the 2016 Fred Page Cup on a high note.
Colton Point, the 4th ranked North American Goaltender for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft was solid between the pipes, making 21 saves.
The Canadians are back in action tomorrow as they face the Pictou County Weeks Crushers at 5PM ET. The game can be seen live on FASTHockey.
For live updates of all Carleton Place games at the Fred Page Cup you can follow us on twitter @CCHLTier1
