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By sweeping the Alberta Lumberjacks in the promotion round, the Arquebusiers d’Auteuil will become the first non-original team to play in Canada’s first division. As of right now, it is believed that no team created later than during season 1 as ever played in the I.1. The Arquebusiers were established mid-way through season 7.

”I can’t believe this is really happening” said general manager Habs72, “It is a major accomplishment, no doubt. All the hard work trying to get the team better, you do it with that goal in mind. One full season in the third division, two in the second and now we are moving up to the Big League. To be competing against clubs that ARE Canadian hockey is an incredible honor. Les Nicol Bolas, the Montreal Sasquatch, the Montreal Strippers… Well I guess the only down side will be trying to score on Tierney. I insist on trying” commented Habs72.

Goalie Oskar Stenberg, an Angel Island Army (Sweden, I.1) hall of famer, played a major role in the team’s success this season. He posted a .933 save percentage in 37 regular season starts, second only to Brantford Nytes’ Rob Impey. He kept up the good work in the playoffs, with a .921 save percentage. But the 24 years old netminder doesn’t want to take any credit: “The numbers don’t say everything. When you look at how good the guys have been in front of me, it’s hard not to stop those pucks. I was just doing my job, battling as hard as I could. Stu is an exceptional leader and you can’t do anything but follow his example”.

Stu, it’s Stu Cresswell, the 22 years old captain of the Arquebusiers. He lead the club in scoring with 52 points in 33 regular season games and added 5 points in 6 games in the playoffs. The Hamilton Reapers’ product was ecstatic: “This is a great day for the city, a great day for our fans, a great day for every member of the organization! It was a team effort all the way. We had youngsters, veterans; each and every guy in this dressing room brought something to the table. People laughed when we added Hargas because he’s 28 years old. But you know what? Our penalty kill has been unbelievable all season long and he’s a big part of it”. When asked about the challenge to play in the first division, Cresswell answered: “It’s gonna be rough. But eh, were we suppose to lose on purpose? We fought our way up there and we proved a lot of people wrong during the last two seasons. Let’s see if we can do that again”.

Head coach Mikal Wangen agreed: “Obviously thing won’t be easy. But whatever happens, I’ll just be proud of the boys and what they’ve done. I won’t lie. When we swept the Stoney Creek Saints in the second round, I sat down with our GM, Habs72, and we went like «Are we ready?». We’ll be the first team to play with the big boys having only such a small number of seasons under the belt. But that’s the exciting part, from now on, we are writing history. That’s no small accomplishment”.

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