email: southdundasinbox@gmail.com

Monday, Mar. 24th - South Dundas' U13-C House team playing in the Upper Canada Minor Hockey League closed their year on Monday evening at the Westport Arena with a win. A glorious win in fact!

        Over a 24-game regular season the team managed a shorter than 50-per cent win record, allowed the 3rd-highest goals against numbers, and closed in 7th-place, 23-points behind the 1st-place North Dundas Demons.

        Following the opening round of play-off action the Lions were relegated to the B-Pool play-off round. Having recorded a 10-5 loss to the Leeds Chargers followed by an 8-6 win over the Smiths Falls Bears, the Lions suddenly found themselves in the B-Pool Gold Medal series against the Leeds Chargers. And wow! Maybe, just maybe . . .  

        The opening game was scheduled for Monday, Mar. 17th at the Chargers home Arena in Westport. And no player East of Brockville has ever been heard to say "Oh how we love going to Westport!!"

        However, the Lions arrived in Westport with a bit of enthusiasm in their pockets. Didn't want to get too cocky showing their colours, just in case. As it turned out it was the Lions doing the charging and the Chargers doing the retreating in this game. South Dundas rolled to a lopsided and surprising 6-2 victory.

        On Wednesday, Mar. 19th the warriors from Westport arrived at the Lion's Den on Morrisburg's Ottawa Street. A large gathering of Lion's fans crowded the Arena foyer and they were expecting a Lion's rout! An hour later the Chargers were piling in their rides home to Westport with a 5-2 victory and the series tied at one game each. The 3rd-meet was scheduled for Westport on Monday, Mar. 24th at 7:00 p.m.

         The home team Chargers took command of the ice immediately with their star sniper Josiah Branscombe snapping an unassisted marker into the netting behind Lion's cage keeper Findlay Mossman. Two minutes later Jonathan Worrall put Leeds up 2-0 when Cohen Courtman and Lucas Plunkett combined to set up an opportunity. 

        Following the break to start the middle frame Branscombe fired his second unassisted goal giving the smiling home team a seemingly unbeatable lead at 3-0 with the game notes only half-way completed on the scoreboard.

        And then, like a magician makes a dollar disappear, the Lion's Griffin Cassell, Mason Horricks (who scored from inside his own blue-line) and Luca Mills made the Chargers lead disappear, in barely a five-minute flash of playing time. And while the second period was over, the tied score, with one period remaining, screamed "New Game!"

        The final period had barely been whistled 'let's go' when Jensen Roderick stole a loose puck, beat Leeds goaltender Harrison Holder, and gave South Dundas a 4-3 lead. The Lion's bench went wild!!

        The Chargers Emmery Daw quieted the visitors from South Dundas to barely a whisper less than a minute following when he put the puck behind Mossman, tieing the game, with assists from Branscombe and Courtman. 

        The two teams went back and forth, up and down the ice, with both net minders facing scoring chances and turning each away repeatedly. That is until Griffin Cassell stepped up, snared the puck and netted the winning B-Pool Gold Medal goal. Unassisted!     

        Watching this team through this season seemed at times comparable to watching a seemingly resurrected, one time collection of dead-end street road hockey warriors representing Morrisburg's projects. At theme force to be reckoned with. And in this particular game a familiar name, long time in local hockey circles, Cassell, hit for two goals on the night, led his 7th-place finishing team to the win, toppling all comers, capturing the Championship hardware and the gold and blue glory for the South Dundas Lions! 

        Our congratulations to goaltender Findlay Mossman, Bentley Jameson, Mason Keyes, Jensen Roderick, Jake Cardinal, Luca Mills, Piper Smyth, Preston Hubert, Griffin Cassell, Landon Horricks, Madison Cardinal, Sam Toonders, Jayce Whittaker, team Captain Ty Merkley, and William Millward. Also to Head Coach Rick Hubert, Assistants Mark Mossman and Mat Jameson, Managers Amanda Smyth and Danielle Whiteway and Trainer Cody Cassell.

Saturday, Mar. 22nd - If one line was used to describe the 2024-25 South Dundas U11-B Rep Lions, it would naturally be "The Best of the Best!" 

        This team of unbelievably talented "under-11-year-olds" has mesmerized their considerable fan following game in and game out, through the entirety of both their regular season and Championship playoff series, coming out unscathed as Upper Canada Minor Hockey League 2024-25 Champions. And deservedly so!

        These Lions ran through a 24-game regular season, capturing 21-victories and one tie for top spot. They tied the Alexandria Glens 2-2 in their first playoff game, corrected their errors and dumped Brockville 4-1, edged Cornwall 4-3, crowned the Kemptville Royals 4-1 and doubled the North-Glen-Stor Braves 8-4.

        In the Championship A Pool series the Lions met the Kemptville Royals in their opening game at Morrisburg, scoring a lopsided 8-4 playoff victory with a scoring and defensive skill set backed by superb net minding that was simply mind-boggling.

        Up by a win the team travelled to Kemptville on Saturday afternoon, finding themselves in a 0-0 tie following the opening period of back and forth action. Max Lapointe put his Royals team in the lead late in the middle period when he flipped a well screened shot through crowd that bounced into the Lion's net.

        Entering the final period down a single goal saw the Lions, as they made obvious several times this season, aim their attack. Considerably outsized by their opponents South Dundas consistently goes to work, rushing and checking and wearing their adversaries down.  As the edge in puck control moves in their favour the Lion's Nash Dempsey charges the net seeking a rebound, challenges the defenders and bangs a Harris Smail created rebound past Kemptville's cage-keeper Eli DuPerron to tie the game.

        Dempsey loves the heated action, loves to score goals and knows his play has and will again encourage his teammates to turn it on. And they did respond.

       South Dundas owned a major portion of game time in the final ten minutes of the 3rd-period. The Kemptville Royals defenders were in for the long run, but . . . 

        Jaxson Holmes scored the game winning goal when Parker Johnson's shot and rebound plopped on to the ice in front of the Royals net, a goal that most affected the home team through the closing four minutes.

        The Royals were physically spent. They simply couldn't muster another scoring opportunity.

        The game was settled on a 2-1 Gold Medal Championship victory for the Lions.

        Our congratulations to South Dundas' top hockey team of the 2024-25 season, the U11-B Rep Lions: Goalie Emmett Cooper-Kerkhof, Beckett Fahrngruber, Jack Heuff, Drake Thompson, Grayson Kelly, Gavin Aubin, Blake Sears, Harris Smail, Jaxon Holmes, Parker Johnston and Nash Dempsey; Head Coach Matt Fahrngruber, Assistant Coaches Dave Sears and Ryan Aubin, Trainer Amber Kelly and Manager Tracy Yalden.

It’s a wrap on another competitive season for Morrisburg and District Skating Club's figure skaters.  Many skaters achieved personal best scores while others skated in their first competitions.  Skaters competed in the Provincial Series #5 in Nepean, Provincial Series #13 Elizabeth Manley Winter Classic in Gloucester, and in the Star 1-4 Marching to Brockville competitions held this past season.

Left to right:  Emelia Westfall – competed in Star 3 Free Skate; Grace Morrow – competed in Star 5 Over 13 Free Skate and Star 7 Artistic;  Tenley Hamilton – competed in Star 3 Free Skate;  Emma Hess – competed in Star 4 over 13 Free Skate; 

Jessica Bouwman – competed in Star 4 over 13 Free Skate and Star 5 Artistic; Grace Smail – competed in Star 5 over 13 Free Skate and Star 5 Artistic; Faith Roberts – competed in Star 5 under 13 Free Skate and Star 5 Artistic; Lauren Scott – competed in Star 5 under 13 Free Skate  . . .

Back Row: Left to Right: Evelyn Lavallee – competed in Star 2 Free Skate; livia Evans – competed in Star 2 Free Skate and Star 2 Elements; Chase Thompson – competed in Star 2 Free Skate; Ellery Casselman – competed in Star 2 Free Skate; Ruth Mossman – competed in Star 1 ; Kassidy Chretien – competed in Star 1; Alyvia Thompson – competed in Star 2 Free Skate; Tessa Laurin – competed in Star 2 Free Skate

Front Row:  Left to Right: Kelsie Perreault – competed in Star 1; Eva Merkley – competed in Star 2 Free Skate; Alexandrea Asselin – competed in Star 2 Free Skate

Left: Blakely Carbino – competed in Star 1

Center: Congratulations to Grace Morrow on qualifying for the Skate Ontario Provincial Championships.  This event is a high-level competition where figure skaters from across Ontario compete for Provincial titles.  Skaters have qualified through participation in qualifying events held throughout the skating season.  Grace competed in the STAR 5 Over 13 level.  The top 30 in this event were invited to the provincial championships.  

A huge accomplishment and amazing experience for Grace!

Right: Hailey Sullivan – competed in Star 4 Over 13 Free Skate

Morrisburg Curling Club's Little Rocks curlers celebrated a season ending round of games

and pizza party on Monday evening at the local club. Curling Rocks club leader, Mahlon Locke,

said the group has enjoyed a great year, has continued to grow in numbers and participated

in several bonspiels around the curling circuit. Interested parties seeking inclusion for their

youngsters in Fall 2025 should contact the Morrisburg Curling Club at their convenience. 

A few days before the first ships came down the St. Lawrence Seaway we were treated

to a fantastic sunset from the west end of Duncan Park in South Dundas.

Although it would have been spectacular to capture a ship slipping out of this background, we did

get a vapour trail from a jet starting in the second photo in this series and through the fourth

photo. It's opportunities like this, the natural beauty of our location, that is so incredibly valuable . . .

       Welcome to the neighbourhood! The new Dundas Manor will include four unique ‘neighbourhoods’, called Homesteads. Now, those neighbourhoods have names, thanks to our residents. Welcome to Heritage Homestead, Harvest Homestead, Heirloom Homestead and Hearth Homestead!

        “Everyone agrees that these names reflect the cozy, country feel of our current home,” notes Administrator Susan Poirer.      

        “The Homesteads depict words that are indicative of the rural roots, generations, traditions and values of the home and its residents.”

        Heritage Homestead speaks to traditions, passed down from generation to generation. Harvest Homestead recognizes the gathering in of the crops. Heirloom Homestead speaks to something special, handed down through the generations. And Hearth Homestead symbolizes one’s home, comfortable in front of the fireplace.

        Each neighbourhood will have a wonderful gathering space as well as beautiful outdoor gardens nearby. Hallway dining will be a thing of the past as there will be four large, bright dining rooms with enough space for everyone. Resident rooms will be larger with more privacy – and everyone will have a window.

        Four spa names have also been chosen: Retreat Spa, Soothing Spa, Serenity Spa and Tranquil Spa.

        “We are so grateful to everyone who provided naming ideas and helped to pick the final names,” sums up Susan Poirier.    

        “Our new space will be larger and state-of-the-art, but we will be bringing the warmth and coziness of our current home with us. These homesteads are our residents’ homes, inspiring happiness and joy every day.”

        To learn more about the new Dundas Manor, visit www.dundasmanordream.ca. This website includes resident and donor profiles as well as photos of the new home.

        South Dundas' Dale Lewis stages an annual fundraiser at the Morrisburg Arena each hockey season.

And to no one's surprise, the fund raiser is all hockey. After all, Dale has a lengthy history of

hockey involvement and is currently one of the owners of the Morrisburg Lions Junior C team.

        The fund-raising event, entitled Hockey Face-Off, is supported by many in the community, business,

individuals and organizations, who provide prizes, venues, and volunteer hours. And the monies raised

are presented to important community groups who work tirelessly to ensure our community and our

very lives are kept safe and sound in every way. Profits from this season's Hockey Face-Off were

presented on Friday morning to the Sgt. Eric Mueller Endowment Fund, Canadian Tire's Jump Start,

the OPP's Seaway Valley Crime Stoppers and the South Dundas Fire Department. each receiving $2,100.

Sunday, Mar. 23rd - South Dundas' U18-B House Lions bowed out of the 2024-25 Playoffs on Sunday evening following a 5-2 loss in the third game of their play-off series with the North Dundas Demons.  The Demons score the Gold Medal and the Lions receive the Silver hardware.

        South Dundas' fan popular entry opened the final series at Winchester's Sam Ault Arena battling to a very tight 3-2 loss. The locals followed that loss with an exiting back and forth, high speed challenge at Morrisburg Arena. 

        The visiting Demon opened the game scoring in the 1st-period and closed that frame in a 2-1 lead. North Dundas built a 4-1 lead early in the final frame before the Lions roared back with the last three counters to hold off a sweep.

        On Sunday evening at Winchester the favoured North Dundas entry took the Gold Medal on a 5-2 victory.

Saturday, Mar. 22nd - In the words of South Dundas Lion's U11-B house winger Raya Cassell, "I think they were just too tough for us!"

        Cassell was talking about the Leeds Chargers who had just eliminated the Lions on a 3-0 score in the third game of the Gold Medal series. South Dundas dropped the opening game on a 1-0 score at Westport on the previous Thursday evening before preparing to stay in the run in Game two at Morrisburg on Saturday.

       The visiting Chargers scored a goal in the opening two minutes and added a pair of counters in the final frame.

The Lions had checked themselves out of energy in holding off the eventual winners and although they did have a good number of chances to add to the score sheet, it was just not their day.

Thursday, Mar. 20th - The South Dundas U11-C Lions bowed out of further 2025 playoff competition on Thursday evening at Morrisburg Arena. In doing so the team presented all in attendance with an astonishing, edge of your seat come-back and near upset show against the favoured South Grenville Rangers. And as they say, the fans were going wild!!!

The visiting Rangers scored four counters in the opening period. And they followed that feat with a pair of goals in the middle frame, securing a commanding 6-0 lead. 

        Then, out of no-where, the host Lions staged a scoring show and a near remarkable upset, falling a single goal short before the shrill of the time-clock horn signalled the end of regulation time

        South Dundas’ Lions, in a third period, six-minute and thirty-three-second span of time, exploded with five-goals, before coming within a whiskers width of tying the game in the final one and a half-minutes of regulation time.

        The Ranger’s Ben Warren notched a hat-trick in the opening period and Dylan Rosetti added a single for the 4-1 lead. Through the middle period Henry Donavan and Quinn Sullivan added singles giving the Rangers a 6-0 advantage.

        In the final period of action Logan Jameson fired a hat-trick for the Lions with Parker Sadler and Miles Wells adding singles. The Lions continued their attack through the final minute of the period but did not manage to beat the Rangers net minding for the tying goal.

        The Rangers were victorious and were presented with UCMHL Bronze medals following the game.

Fatal collision on City. Rd. 2 in South Dundas . . .

Friday, Mar. 1st - The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police are currently investigating a fatal, single motor vehicle collision which occurred on County Road 2 in South Dundas Township (Village of Iroquois).

        On the evening of Friday, March 21st, 2025, at approximately 10:45pm a single motor was travelling Westbound on County Road 2 in the Township of South Dundas when the vehicle failed to navigate the roundabout in the Village of Iroquois, leaving the roadway and striking several objects before coming to a rest. 

        Officers with the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SD&G) Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the South Dundas Fire Department and Cornwall SDG Paramedics responded to the collision. Life saving measures were attempted but the lone 43-year-old female occupant from Montreal, Quebec was pronounced deceased at the scene.

        The investigation is being led by SD&G OPP, with assistance from the SD&G Crime Unit, OPP Collision Reconstructionist and Technical Collision Investigators. 

        Anyone with any information that could assist the investigation is urged to contact the SD&G OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

The Bilinguish Boys!

April 5, 2025 | 7 pm

$25 in advance (+ online fees) or $30 at the door

        The Bilinguish Boys is a group formed in the suburbs of Greater Sudbury, somewhere between Azilda and Chelmsford. Comprised of Stef Paquette, Dayv Poulin, and Édouard Landry, these masters of the Franco-Ontarian music scene will be serving up their original songs and some covers, with voices and guitars harmoniously blended into a full speed sound cocktail. Add to that the comedic improvisation they are renowned for, it's going to be an evening of guaranteed fun!

        Tickets for this show are $25 in advance (+ online fees) or $30 at the door. Advance tickets are available online only through the Eventbrite Link below. Your ticket will be delivered to you via email. If shows are sold out, we will post that information here and on our Facebook page, otherwise you should assume you can also purchase tickets at the door. We accept cash, credit card or debit for day of show sales.

        All seating at our shows is general admission - which means you will choose your seat on arrival. There isn't a bad seat in the house, but if you would like to be close to the front we recommend arriving at least half an hour before show time.

        The Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg is a fully accessible venue - we will reserve seats for those who need access to wheelchair or walker spaces. Please email us at info@st-lawrencestage.com immediately before or after you have purchased your tickets so that we can ensure the space is reserved for you.

Go to www.st-lawrencestage.com