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High Scoring Affairs Friday night
The races got a little tighter last evening and the goals were plentiful in a series of Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League Games. The following is a complete rundown from Friday night:
Antigonish AA Munro Jr. Bulldogs 8 Capstone Colts 4
When they last met on Remembrance Day in Antigonish, the Colts pulled out a 6-5 shoot-out win. Anticipation was high as the two teams played for the second and last time during this regular season at C.F.B. Shearwater Friday night. The only way they can play again this season is if they face each other in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League Championship Series in April. The game was not what Colts Head Coach Justin Boone was looking for as the Jr. Bulldogs doubled up the Colts 8-4. Cooper Puma of the Colts and Sam Grant who scored twice and added an assist for Antigonish were the only marksmen in the opening period. In the second period, it was a different story as the Jr. Bulldogs put things into high gear and outscored the Colts 4-2 to the a 5-3 lead after forty minutes. Logan McGrath scored the first of his two goals to go along with an assist followed by a goal from Brodie MacDonald to put Antigonish ahead 3-1. Cooper Puma brought the Colts back to within one but Sam Grant with his second of the night to go along with an assist made it 4-2 Bulldogs. Only 6 seconds later Liam Andrews brough the Colts back to within one before Nick Marshall scored to put Antigonish up 5-3 after forty minutes. The Bulldogs were not finished as they scored twice in the third to open the scoring with McGrath scoring his second of the night giving him 7 on the season. The 7th goal came from Mattthew Bercovici before Trayner McCulloch scored to bring the Colts back to with in 3, trailing 7-4. That as far as they would get as Andrew Murray scored with 1:01 left to give the Bulldogs their 8-4 win. Ethan Twoolan increased his assist total on the season to 13 recording four on the evening. Tully Grant recorded 3 assists giving him 10 on the season to along with three goals. The Bulldogs are now 17-1-1 for 35 points and seven points ahead of the second place Pictou County Scotians who they play Sunday night in Trenton at 6:00 p.m. The Colts remain in first place in the Fox with a 12-2-2 record compared to the East Hants Penguins mark of 12-4-0.
Sackville Blazers 5 Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates 3
The Blazers got a bit of revenge with their 5-3 win in the Strait Friday evening. In the first game played between the two clubs this season in Sackville, the Strait won 8-3 and ended up outscoring the Blazers 11-8 in their two regular season games. Sackville led 2-1 after twenty minutes on a pair goals from Jaden Hardie with hith of the season and Ryan MacIntyre. The Blazers kept their one goal lead after forty minutes leading 3-2 as Lawson Cook scored for the Blazers and Dave Matthews for the Strait. Sam Beaton of the Pirates tied the game at 3-3, 1:10 into the third period but they could not hold the Blazers back as Jaden Hardie registered his 2nd of the game for his 6th of the season and Justin Hardie with his 5th of the season to give the Blazers a 5-3 win. Ben Etsell in the Sackville nets had to stay sharp as he stopped 38 of 41 shots in earning the win. For Sackville it was their 9th wn of the season and moved them to within three points of the second place Penguins in the Fred Fox Division. The Pirates lost their 8th game in 20 starts and remain four back of the 2nd place Pictou County Scotians wo stand at 14-6 after their win in Eskasoni.
Pictou County Scotians 7 Eskasoni Jr. Eagles 6
Kyler Lohnes goal 39 seconds into sudden-death overtime provided the Pictou County Scotians with a 7-6 win over the Eskasoni Jr. Eagles Friday night at the Dan K. Stevens Memorial Arena in Eskasoni. Pictou jumped in front 4-2 after the first period on goals from Ryan Frizzle who would also go on and add two assists, Thomas Kennaley with his 6th of the season and Jack Tompkins with his 4th and Avery MacLeod. Eagle goal scorers were Joshua Novak with his 5th and Keagan Geizer with his fourth to gaoling with 9 assists on the season. The teams exchanged a pair of goals in the second with Noah MacKinnon bringing the Eagles back to within one before Matt Carson scored his 8th of the season to give the Scotians a 5-3 lead going into the tird period. After the Scotians moved in front 6-3 on Jack Tompkins 5th of the season, the Jr. Eagles roared back with goals from Bryce MacKenzie, JC MacDonald and Nathaniel Fuller who also added a couple of assist during the evening to tie the game at 6-6 and send it into sudden-death overtime. The result was Lohnes goal and the 7-6 Pictou win. Pictou is now 14-6-0 after twenty games of the 32 game schedule and remain in second place in the Sid Rowe Division, 7 points behind the Bulldogs.
Valley Maple Leafs 6 Brookfield Elks 1
With the exception of the opening 6-7 minutes of the second period, the Valley Maple Leafs dominated the Brookfield Elks Friday evening in Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League play in Windsor. When you look at the shots total for the game, the Elks outshot the Leafs 44-41 but a number of them were not quality shots and those that were, Leafs Goaltender Jayden Croft was excellent in nets for the Leafs. The Valley took a 3-0 lead after one period on a pair of goals from Jacob Gerhardt and another from Christopher Brown. Gerhardt’s first goal was a blast from 15 feet in front of the Elks net. Christopher Brown made it 2-0 on a sensational 2 on 1 play with Ryder Tolson as Tolson made a great pass over to Brown who put it into a wide-open Elks net as Tolson had the goalie commit on him before making the pass. Gerhardt then scored his second of the period when he took a pass from Ben McCarthy. The Leafs outplayed the Elks by a wide margin and outshot the Colchester County team 16-11. In the second period, the Elks seemed to be a new team for the opening 6-7 minutes. The Elks scored seconds after they finished on the power play as the Leafs played short-handed for the opening 1:23 of the second frame. The Elks goal came on a great rush from deep in their end with no Leafs being able to stop the Elks Calem McAndrew who swooped in but was denied by Croft in the Maple Leafs net and after making the initial save, Croft saved a rebound before McAndrew finally put it home on a 2nd rebound. Nicholas Vidito who garnered three assists for the Leafs missed on a break-away after the Elks goal and then Croft made a great save on a bullet shot. The Elks then almost scored their second goal of the game on a two on one but the Elks player streaking down the left side took a shot and Croft made the save, with the rebound jumping over the Elks player stick to the right. The Brookfield game then fell apart as they took penalty after penalty. The Leafs had a two man advantage for 1:24 and Justin Banks scored to make it 4-1 on a shot from the point. The Elks took a major oeanalty and a game misconduct for a vicious cross-check before Gerhardt scored his third goal of the evening for a hat-trick as the Leafs buzzed all around the Elks net to make it 5-1. The final goal of the game was scored by the Leafs Cole Stewart who went in on a breakaway after taking a pass from Vidito to make the final 6-1. The win for the Leafs their 4th of the season, puts them only two points back of the fifth place Elks who have 11 points. Both teams still have some work to do in order to catch the 4th place South Shore Lumberjacks who have 17 points. The Leafs will play two games Friday Dec 1 and Sunday December 3rd when they host the Pictou County Scotians followed by a Sunday game with the East Hants Penguins. Both games will start at 7:30.