The playoffs and a new phase of our season started last weekend, where every team will try be at their best and carve out a place for the final April 26.

While we await a new scoreboard, you may have noticed flags with the team colours under the clock which allow fans to know which team is ‘home’ and which team is ‘visitors.’ This homemade solution is one more step to creating an optimal hockey experience.

 Take a look at the statistics section of our website to see who won Saturday’s matchups. You can still see the regular season stats by clicking on the tab at the top right-hand side of the page.

 Saturday also marked the start of our campaign to promote our fundraiser for the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation that will take place with our April 26 final. All profits from ticket sales and concessions will go to the foundation. Door prizes, a DJ host, sport celebrities and some surprises await those who attend, along with a chance to pose for a photo with the cup that will be awarded for the first time to the LFA champions.

 The reasons I am associated with this cause through the Hockey Brotherhood Association and the LFA are numerous, but to summarize it’s that if each of us take a small step we will collectively have a great impact on the lives of others and our own. Without a wider social involvement, the league would not have a reason to exist, for me, and all the work involved in running it would be lost. Working together, the LFA and the Brotherhood will grow and spread good works while offering an optimal hockey experience to players. We’re only at the beginning of the story.

 If any of you (or better yet, all of you!) want to get more involved, selling tickets is just one small part of the work that must be done between now and the 26th, and on the day of the event. Don’t hesitate to let me know. People from outside the association and the league are also welcome to pitch in.

 I also hope that members of the two teams that don’t make the grand final will show up to help make the event a success and to take part in an annual classic in the making.To accomplish the impossible and fill the College Notre-Dame Arena for an adult hockey game and raise money for such a worthy foundation is our challenge, our mission, to complete the inaugural season of the LFA with stide.

Last Wednesday was held the launching of the new TREMBLAY trophy, an LFA exclusif designed and built by TOTEM URBAIN. Guests were able not only to look at this unique specimen but also to drink from it, as it held a precious liquid behind a cage of copper, metal and ice. Thanks to those who came to celebrate with us this brand new addition to our trophy case, congrats to the 3 door prize winners and if you missed it or wish to see it again. Visit our trophy section during the week as we will be posting pictures taken in a studio prior to the launch. In this section you will also be able to see our brand new LFA trophy HD video as well.

Don’t forget you have until midnight on Monday March 31 (tonight !) to vote for the final player of the month of the season, also here is the 50/50 number for the March draw. The pot is $430 -- $10 less than in December, which allowed the LFA to pay for our Christmas dinner/party beer.

Good luck in the playoffs and with ticket sales for our first group project -- our first grand final in league history, associated with a great cause. Your suggestions, ideas and feedback are always welcome

 JFD (AS TRANSLATED BY LES PERREAUX)