Lynn Youth Hockey falls short to Boucherville

When it was time for the Lynn Comets youth hockey program to say “au revoir” to its counterparts from Boucherville, Quebec, this past weekend, the two programs could look back on a memorable stretch of hockey.The Comets would come up just short in 12 games at Connery Rink throughout the weekend. Lynn would have five wins, one tie and six losses as Boucherville would capture the Winter 2011 Challenge Cup.”It was a great weekend of hockey,” Lynn Youth Hockey president Al Donovan said. “It was a very close Challenge Cup this year.”The Cup, now in its third year, is a home-and-home series between the Lynners and the Quebecers. In April, between 250 and 270 members of the Comets program (players, parents, coaches and siblings) will travel to Boucherville for Round Two of the 2011 Cup series.”With the exchange, there’s a whole different element,” Donovan said. “Not hockey itself, but a cultural exchange. They come down here and it’s city life. Up there, it’s rural. They grow up on farms.”You say ‘Quebec’ and you think Montreal, but (Boucherville) is farmland. It’s a little different for players in the City of Lynn, on the North Shore, in Swampscott and other towns around Lynn, as well as Nahant, who grow up in the city.”The Cup was inspired by a similar exchange between the Marblehead Youth Hockey program and St. Lambert, Canada – an exchange that is nearing its 50th year. The Lynn-Boucherville exchange has grown from two teams to five teams last year to six teams in 2011. The Greater Lynn players who participated this year are from seven to 14 years old.This year’s event drew 12 teams overall between the American and Canadian programs, and over 570 players, coaches, parents and siblings. The Quebecers brought 275 people in five buses, with a few making the trek in other vehicles.”Their program is pretty huge,” Donovan said. “They have six to 10 teams at every level.”There was at least one repeat visitor from last year: Rene Rancourt, who sings the national anthem before Boston Bruins games at the TD Garden. Rancourt sang both the Canadian and US national anthems for the Challenge Cup.”He did stick around and chat with a few people,” Donovan said.Donovan also praised the local turnout.”We had very, very good crowds,” he said. “On Friday night there was a healthy crowd; a 4:30 afternoon game is usually a tough time ? There was a lot of support.”He was also thankful that the notorious New England weather held off.”I think we were pretty fortunate that the 3, 4, 5 inches (of snow) did not come at once,” he said, “and didn’t make it a tough situation. The people at the rink did a great job managing the process of snow removal.”Donovan also said that even when the games are over, the players have opportunities to stay in contact.”You have Xbox, the Internet, Facebook,” he said. “With technology today, communication is easier for the younger generation.”