It’s a thirst that has taken years for the Essex 73’s to quench.

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Lakeshore – This is the desire of Essex 73 that took years.

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The 73 ended Tuesday’s five-year dynasty for Lakeshore Canadiens, with a 5-3 victory, packing 1,020 people at the Atlas Tube Tube Center.

Essex won the first Bill Stobs Division Championship 4-2 since 2017 with a 4-2 win in the provincial hockey league since 2017.

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“This is the first championship I’ve ever won,” said 73’s forward Patrick McManus. “They built a team that we thought could be done and we did it.”

“Before the game, you try to imagine yourself winning, and you can’t imagine that. It’s great.”

Lakeshore is seeking a sixth consecutive Bill Stobbs division title, dating back to 2018, with the phone calls for the first five champions at the 1973s, who lost last year’s final in seven games.

“It’s a surreal moment,” said Captain Gabe Piccolo of 73. “I’m very proud of the boys after losing last year and getting the game this year. Since last year we have had a sour taste in our mouths and don’t want to taste it anymore.”

The title has entered the 73s since 2005, or the Canadians with Essex now have 12 titles.

“It’s like their Stanley Cup,” said 73’s head coach Tony Piroski. “It’s a big deal in the local hockey community. Some of them lost to these guys three or four times and they don’t want to lose another one.”

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A huge opening period, 73 games 16-5 and led Marcus Levesque 3-0 while Karson Beuglet scored two goals.

“What an unreal time,” Piccolo said. “Scoring three goals in the knockout round is huge.”

McManus made all five Essex goals, 4-0 in the second phase before Kyle Greene added the Canadiens to the board just 23 seconds later in the second quarter.

The powerful goals from Nicolas Rosati and Marco Sladoje made it a single goal match, just 84 seconds in the third stage. Lakeshore has a chance to get even chances, but McManus scored less than seven minutes in the Essex power play, giving 73 some breathing space.

“It’s a great group of people,” said Trevor Larue of Lakeshore, who scored two assists in the final junior hockey game. “I don’t want to spend my (junior year) career with anyone else.

“I’m proud of us going so far. We beat Gong 4-0 and fought 4-3. Very proud of our performance, not the result we wanted, but it was a great five years.”

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Although the battle on the ice is fierce, the two organizations have great mutual respect.

“(Lakeshore) is a great team, they work very hard, they have great coaches, and all four lines want to work every night,” Laru said. “They went beyond us and they performed better than we deserved, so I’m happy for them.”

It was an impressive performance from the 73s, who won all three of the Lakeshore races.

“In our home, they were 2-1 in our home (in three games),” Piccolo said. “(Atlas Tube Center is a bigger rink, and I think our team is faster and we are flying better on the bigger rink. It’s a big deal to get into the barn of another team and get three. I’m proud of these boys.”

Essex will now enter the Schmaltz Cup provincial champion quarterfinal against Petrolia Flyers, who won the Yeck Division Final in six games against Exeter Hawks. The series has not yet been set.

“We’ll definitely enjoy this moment (Tuesday), but definitely not done here,” Piccolo said. “We have to go and take those rings and the next trophy.”

jpparker@postmedia.com

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