Durand comes up big for Olympiens

The way Payton Durand was rolling, it should have come as no surprise to see her celebrating yet again.

The outstanding Collège Jeanne-Sauvé forward recently checked in at No. 4 on the Free Press’ coaches poll of the top 10 women’s high school hockey players in the province, She played like a No. 1 talent in the biggest series of the season.

“I just went into (the series) with a no-quit mentality,” said Durand, who was credited with the game-winning goal in a decisive Game 3 of the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League final on Friday.

“I wasn’t giving up on that puck and I knew that I had to help my team to win this, and I didn’t want to go down,” she added. “This is my Grade 12 year and I needed to win it. I gave it all I had.”

The Olympiens defeated the Glenlawn Lions 2-0 at Seven Oaks Arena to claim their third Division 1 championship in program history. CJS faced elimination in consecutive contests after losing Game 1 but rose to the challenge in each outing against a Lions squad that had lost once all season before the finals.

“To do this with this group of girls is something I never expected and we worked so hard for this, and to come out on top like that is just fantastic, especially in my last year,” said Durand, who was named the game’s first star. “It was all emotions, I was just in shock (after the final buzzer).”

Durand burned the Lions five times in the three-game series, including a hat-trick in Game 2. She opened the scoring at 15:35 in the first period, finishing a breakaway attempt that she created after intercepting a pass in the defensive zone.

“All year, she’s been our goal scorer,” said Olympiens head coach Melissa Boulanger. “And we chatted about that through the season, like, ‘You score the majority of our goals, you have to start looking to your linemates,’ and then she went through a bit of a drought but she pulled through here in the end. She scores when it counts, she’s got a wicked shot and she picks those corners.”

The Lions were again without the services of three of their top players — forward Delainey Rigaux, along with her sister Vayda and Leah Claussen on the blue line— who played in Game 3 of the Manitoba Female Hockey League U18 AAA finals between the Eastman Selects and Winnipeg Avros later in the evening.

It was the second time the trio missed a game in the series. The first time produced a victory for the Lions as forward Chloe Minkus drove the offence in their absence. Unlike that occasion, the Lions couldn’t generate much in the way of high-danger chances on Friday.

“Even though it wasn’t the message going into that first game, I think in the back of our minds we were thinking (about how) they were down a few players and it won’t be the same, and we quickly learned that that’s not the case,” said Boulanger.

“The energy going into that second game was so different. Everyone was dialed up, ready to lock in, and seeing how successful we can be, even with their full lineup, motivated us for a big game today.”

Glenlawn iced the most prolific offence in the league this season, but CJS had the toughest defence to crack.

The Olympiens’ tight-checking system was on full display, while standout goaltender Celeste Pelletier stopped all 33 shots she faced in a shutout performance.

“This might sound a little cheesy, but everyone knows each other so well, so the communication comes so easily,” said Pelletier, who checked in at No. 5 and was voted the league’s top net minder in the coaches poll. She allowed two goals in six periods after the Game 1 loss.

“We’re always there for each other— someone goes to forecheck and there’s someone there covering for them. There’s not usually a time where no one’s in the right spot, we’re always covering for each other and playing for each other.”

Lions goaltender Jovi Wozny, the game’s second star, stopped 20 of the 21 shots she faced.

Forward Autumn Perrault McCabe, the third star, guided the puck into an empty net in the game’s dying moments.

“All of the emotions,” said Boulanger. “I was overjoyed, so happy for the girls. They put in the work. It was a nail-biter of a game, but they pulled through.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca