Do not poke the bear.

After beating the St Charles College Cardinals 4-1 at the end of November, the Horizon Aigles were on something of a roll, closing out the opening half of the SDSSAA Boys Hockey schedule with a record of 11-0-0.

Understandably proud of their accomplishment, the lads from Val Caron may not have realized the fire that they lit under the school with the longest-standing tradition of boys hockey excellence in the city.

"This was like a big redemption game for us, showing everyone that we're the best in Sudbury," said SCC veteran defenseman Cowan Billard who picked up an assist as the Cardinals bounced Horizon by ironically the exact same 4-1 score earlier this week at Carmichale Arena.

"I'm glad we came out with the "W" - we've got to keep going from here," added Billard.

St Charles started quickly, building up a 2-0 lead in the opening ten minutes on goals from Cooper Molyneaux and Carter Danyluk, with Tyler Tibodeau adding tallies in each of the final two periods and Alex Coulombe replying for the Aigles.

It was clear from the outset that Horizon was going to be challenged to match the puck-drop intensity that Billard and company brought to the rink, at least in this particular head to head matchup.

"We get ourselves amped up and the coaches are definitely awesome helping with that," said Billard. "It's a big mindset for us to get locked-in before the game, dialed into what we need to do in order for us to be ready."

A smooth-skating blueliner who was annointed with an "A" this year, Billard needs ever bit of his skating skills when facing an Aigles team that features a handful of forwards who can absolutely wheel.

"Horizon loves to go cross-ice and then skate down the boards and go wide," said Billard. "For me, it's about angling that guy coming down the boards on my side."

While jumping out to a 3-0 advantage heading to the third was key for the Cardinals, so too was the work of netminder Carter MacDonald, who turned aside 27 of the 28 shots that he faced, many coming late in the second and early in the third when SCC was hit with a rash of penalties.

"He is awesome to rely on if someone happens to get by me," said Billard. "It's awesome knowing he's there and that he's going to stop it."

With the win, St Charles improves to 13-1-1 (27 pts), with one game remaining against the Lo-Ellen Park Knights (6-4-4=16). As for Horizon, the the Aigles have struggled to hit the win column in 2023.

Goaltender Logan Carr was outstanding, registering 38 saves in helping the Confederation Chargers (7-7-1) earn a 2-2 draw with Horizon on January 11th, with the Aigles. One week later, it was Jet Bertrand pulling the Knights even midway through the third as Horizon recorded a second straight 2-2 tie.

Regular season action resumes after the exam break, with Horizon and the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes set to do battle on February 2nd and single game quarter-finals scheduled for Saturday, February 11th in Garson.