Season ends in triple overtime for Leroux

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A successful season had just ended in bitter disappointment for Jeremy Leroux and the Port Huron (Michigan) Icehawks.

But already, the International Hockey League team was looking ahead to 2008-2009 - and several pressing issues.

The main one for the Icehawks - who lost Game 7 of the IHL final series to the Fort Wayne Komets in triple overtime - is renegotiating a deal to play in aging McMorran Arena.

"I think the city needs to take the next step,'' said team vice-president Shawn Burr. "They need to give us a chance to run the arena. That's the only way this will work.''

Re-signing a nucleus of young players is another key for the franchise. Leroux, 25, of North Lunenburg, was one of the steadiest - and youngest - blueliners, a group that included 36-year-old, 15-year-pro and former Royals player Mark DeSantis.

DeSantis, Leroux and company came oh so close to getting their hands on the Turner Cup. But in a series they once led 3-1, it all came down to Game 7 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a crowd of 10,462 at the Allen County War Memorial saw playoff MVP Justin Hodgeman score 23 seconds into the third overtime session, giving the Komets a 3-2 win and ending a game that had gone on for over 100 minutes.

It was the sixth championship in the rich 56-year history of the Fort Wayne franchise.

The Icehawks, meanwhile in 2007-2008, became an almost overnight success in northern Michigan, managing to establish their franchise in what's been an economically hard-hit part of the state.

Leroux, the former star at division l American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, had a solid rookie pro campaign, scoring eight times and adding 14 assists for 22 points in 67 regular season games.

Leroux and the Icehawks appeared poised for an upset in the final, especially when they grabbed a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven.

With a chance to win the cup on home ice in Game 6, in front of a sell-out crowd of 3,129 at McMorran Arena, the Komets stayed alive by charging to leads of 3-0 and 4-1 before holding on for a 4-3 decision.

"I'm really proud of these guys,'' Icehawks head coach Stan Drulia said. "They did a great job this season.''