GrayJay Sports
League News
Pens 1 game away from Elimination
If the East Hants Penguins hope to play anymore hockey this season, they will have to have everything in gear and play like the 26-4-0 team everyone saw during the regular season, in Bridgewater Saturday night. The following is a recap of playoff hockey Friday night:
South Shore 6 East Hants 4
The teams battled back and forth throughout the game until Justin Hardwicke Brown and Brennan Coleman of the Lumberjacks broke a 3-3 tie mid-way through the second period to give the South Shore a 6-4 win and a 3-0 lead in their Fox Divisional Semi-Final in Lantz Friday night.
Hayden Tamm who finished the night with a goal and two assists, scored early in the third period to bring the Penguins back to within a goal at 5-4 but East Hants pulled goalie Fintan Boudreau with 1:35 left in regulation with hopes of tying the contest, only to see Ethan MacVicar score into an empty net for the Lumberjacks with 4 seconds remaining and the 6-4 South Shore win.
Earlier in the game, Devin Meagher opened the game’s scoring only 55 seconds after the opening face-off to put the Pens up 1-0 but Joe Osborne and Brennan Coleman then scored to give the South Shore a 2-1 lead. Before the first period concluded Nick Veinot tallied for the Pens to tie the game at 2-2 after one period. Daniel Kline for the South Shore and Jayson Hanson scored 1:24 apart to even the game at 3-3 in the second prior to the goals from Hardwicke Brown and Coleman. Coleman’s goal was his second of the evening.
East Hants outshot the Lumberjacks 46-23 but similar to last year’s playoffs, Keegan Greencorn stood on his head turning away 42 of 46 Penguin shots for the Lumberjacks.
The South Shore can wrap the series up tonight in Bridgewater with Game 4 starting at 7:00 p.m. If a 5th game should be required, it will be played in Lantz next Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.
Colts 7 Sackville 0
After losing the opening game of the series to the Blazers, the Colts have breathed fire and took a 2-1 Fox Divisional Semi-Final Lead over the Blazers with a 7-0 trouncing at C.F.B. Shearwater last night. This was after the Colts recorded a 6-0 win Monday night in Sackville to deadlock the series 1-1. The Colts took period leads of 2-0 and 4-0 before scoring three more times in the third while outshooting the Blazers 38-31. Liam Andrews scored three times for the Colts including a short-handed marker and Finn Merritt scored a pair of third period goals 36 seconds apart to put the Colts up 6-0 before Riley Henman concluded the game’s scoring late in the third. The other Colts goal was the game’s opener by Braden Cheney. Conar Brace recorded his second consecutive shut-out and has now stopped 97 of the 102 shots he has faced in the three playoff games with Sackville. Andrews now has 6 goals in the three games while Merritt has scored four times and Cooper Puma has added five assists. Game 4 in this Best-of-Seven Divisional Semi-Final goes Monday night in Sackville at 7:30 p.m.
Antigonish 4 Port Hawkesbury 2
The Jr. Bulldogs who are aiming for their fourth Provincial Junior Championship in 24-25 and their third consecutive Atlantic/Maritime Junior Championship have a had a tougher go with the Strait Pirates than originally expected. The teams split the opening two games in Antigonish before Game 3 was played in Port Hawkesbury Friday night. The Bulldogs doubled up the Strait 4-2 thanks to three unanswered goals in the second period from Ray McKinnon, Venel Campbell and Daniel Chiasson’s power-play marker.
The teams played to a scoreless opening period before the Strait tried to get back into the game in the third period. They almost did as Ryland Hanrahan on the power-play and Leo MacLean scored to pull the Strait t within 3-2 but they could not tie the game up and Logan McGrath scored the final goal of the game for Antigonish with 6:37 to play in regulation.
The Strait Pirates had a glorious chance at tying the game after MacLean made it 3-2 when the Bulldogs offensive juggernaut Owen Forsythe was handed a five minute major for charging and a game misconduct but the Pirates could not take advantage. Bulldogs net minder Adam Tkacz has now turned away 63 of 70 shots he has face in the series to date. The teams will play Game 4 in Port Hawkesbury Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. Game 3 in the Membertou-Pictou series will resume Sunday night as well in Pictou with the clubs tied at 1-1 in their series.