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Grand Falls’ Julien Bellefleur will long keep memories of his participation at the New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys AAA Hockey Championship at the end of March.

Bellefleur scored 14 seconds into overtime to lift the Leo Hayes Lions to a 6-5 win over the Clement Cormier Cavaliers.

Bellefleur also scored in regulation for the Lions as did Nick Boudreau, Jeff McKinley, Jake Thomas and Cody Stewart. Devin Munn and Brandon Dobbelsteyn each tallied two assists for the winning squad from Fredericton.

“It was incredible,” Bellefleur stated.

“It is by far my biggest goal. We were a bit lost after the second period but our coach spoke to us and everybody calmed down,” he added.

“We never stopped and scored two equalizing goals in the third period,” he said. “We had a special group of kids this year,” Lions head coach Brent Grant said. “They played their hearts out and we improved every day.”

The Lions’ lineup featured 12 players who’ve been with the program for two years and four who had been on board for three years. Grant said the championship meant a lot to that veteran core, which experienced the setback of losing last year’s provincial final to Shediac’s Louis J. Robichaud. “We understand ths is their NHL and we try to treat it that way,” Grant said. “With those experienced players, we didn’t have to start over and they knew what we expected.”

Leo Hayes tasted redemption even before the final, advancing to the championship with a 6-1 win over Louis J. Robichaud. Robbie Weale scored twice for the Lions while Kodi Estey, Bellefleur, Thomas and Scott Munn added solo markers.