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League News
Colts win 8th straight, rugged game in Springhill
Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League Fans are in for some exceptional excitement this week as all teams fight and claw to finish in the best possible place they can prior to the playoffs beginning Tuesday March 1. In play on the Holiday Monday.
Aidan Durnford was kept busy in the Valley Maple Leafs net turning away 55 of 58 shots but still faced the loss 4-2 to the Sackville Blazers. Mitchell Comeau scored the only goal of the first period, a mere 36 seconds after the opening face-off but that was all the scoring until Dryden Schofield tied it for the Leafs in the second. Before the middle period concluded Duggan Gauthier put the Blazers in front 2-1. Half-way through the final period, the Leafs Ben Fleckenstein tied the game at 2, but that lasted only 1:15 when the Blazers Noah Healy tallied the game winner before Stephen Purdy put one into an empty net to make the final 4-2 Blazers. The win for Sackville was their 13th in 20 games this season and keeps them five points in front of the second place Capstone Colts who play out of C.F.B Shearwater. The Leafs lost their 12th game in 17 starts this season.
Capstone 10 Brookfield 2
The Colts won their 8th consecutive game dating back prior to the Omnicron delay as they crushed the Brookfield Elks 10-2. Ryan Welsh scored a pair for the Colts who are now 11-5-0 for 22 points. The Colts Josh Moore scored the only goal of the first period but they blew the barn door wide-open in the second period as they outscored the Elks 5-2 to take a 6-2 lead after forty minutes. Welsh scored the first of his two and singles went to Will MacRae who also added a pair of assists, Cole Good who scored the game-winner on a power-play, Cooper Puma and Samuel Beaton. Luke Fielding and Kyran Burton tallied for the Elks. In the third period, the colts scored four unanswered goals with Welsh scoring his second and single markers being recorded by Brayden Hooper-Richard, Stephen Warwick and Ben King. Brett Moore collected three assists for the Colts who will swing back into action with a pair of road games to conclude their regular season Friday and Saturday. Friday, they are in Lantz to play the fourth place Penguins and Saturday in a special 5:30 start, they will visit the Blazers in Sackville.
Liverpool 7 East Hants 2
The Privateers won their 9th of the season and moved three points ahead of the fourth place Penguins with their win Monday afternoon. It was a wild first period of scoring which concluded with the Privateers leading 5-2. The Pens Evan McHenry put East Hants up 1-0 31 seconds into the contest but Liverpool came back with five straight goals including a pair from Daniel Kline which include the game winner and a pair from Kayden Nickerson with Dylan Patterson adding a solo marker. Morgan Lake scored the second Pens goal. Malcom Bussey scored Liverpool’s final two goals, one apiece in the second and third periods while also adding an assist. Alec Howie garnered three assists for the winners who stayed one point back of the Colts in the chase for 2nd place in the Fred Fox Division. The Privateers will conclude their regular season at home in Liverpool Saturday night against the Elks in a 7:00 p.m. start.
Membertou Jr. Miners 3 Cumberland County Blues 0
Ashton Paul with the game winner in the opening period and 2nd period goals from Alex MacKinnon and Brandon Grant was all that was required as the Jr. Miners won their 10th game in 17 starts this season. Josh MacKay added a pair of assists for the Jr. Miners. The game was unusually a rough and rugged affair for teams who had not seen each other in several months as a total of 169 penalty minutes were handed out including 4 misconducts, 6 game misconducts, 1 Gross Misconduct, 5 majors and 12 minors. Membertou will conclude their regular season with a home game against Eskasoni Wednesday night and a road game in Pictou Sunday night.