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Blazers lose 3rd straight

The Capstone Cole Harbour Colts handed the 1st Place Sackville Blazers their third consecutive loss Monday evening at the Sackville Arena.  Both teams were finishing a 3 games in 4 nights stand which began with the Colts defeating the Blazers 4-2 at C.F.B. Shearwater Friday evening.  In the first period Zephrin Hachey scored for the Blazers at the 10:54 mark and exactly seven minutes later with slightly less than 4 minutes left in the first period, Brayden Hooper-Richard scored the first of his to goals on the evening.  Richard gave the Colts a 2-1 lead in the second and then Cooper Puma made it 3-1 Colts after two.  The closest Sackville could get after this was a marker from Spencer Langille-Crowe with 18 seconds left in regulation.  The Blazers outshot the Colts 50-45.  The Colts have now won 2 of 3 against the Blazers this season and do not clash again until Mon  Feb 28 in Sackville.  In the three games played between the two clubs to date this season, both teams have scored 9 goals against each other. Brady Crossley added a pair of assists for the Colts who improved to 6-5-0 while winning their 3rd consecutive game and 12 points, 2 back of third place East Hants in the Fred Fox Division. The Blazers are now 10-6-1 for 2 points.  The Blazers are now preparing for a huge game with the 7-3-1 Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates Mon Dec 6 at 7:30 in Sackville.  The Colts meanwhile have 4 games remaining on their schedule prior to the Christmas break.  They will play on the road this weekend Friday, Dec 3 and Sat Dec 4 in the Valley and in Liverpool Saturday Dec 5 before returning home for two games against Cumberland Fri Dec 10 and Sat Dec 11 against the Valley Maple Leafs - both games at C.F.B. Shearwater.

Dec 1, 2021
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Scotians 5 wins in 6 games - Blazers lose again

The Pictou County Scotians are on the move and Sunday Night Nov 28 at home in Trenton won their 7th game and their 5th in their past 6 in a shoot-out 4-3 win over the Membertou Jr. Miners.  The Scotians Hayden Burgess opened the game’s scoring short-handed for the Scotians with under 4 minutes to play in the opening period but Nathaniel Fuller tied it for the Jr. Miners with 1:28 left in the opening frame.  The second period was almost identical but this time Fuller put the Jr. Miners up 2-1 on the power-play before Matt Chediac tied the game at 2 for the Scotians with 1:58 showing on the clock for the duration of the second period.  The third period saw the Scotians go up 3-2 on a goal from Thomas Kennaley before Fuller finished with his hat-trick as well as his 11th goal of the season with just 2:30 left in regulation to once again knot the game, this time at 3-3.  Alex MacKinnon finished with assists on all 3 Jr. Miner goals and Pictou outshot the Jr. Miners 43-30.  The sudden-death was scoreless as were the Jr. Miners on the three shots they took in the shoot-out.  The Scotians Connor Aucoin scored on his first shot for Pictou and it proved to be the only goal of the six shots as Matt Carson and Kennaley both missed.  The Scotians are now 7-4-0 on the season and 1 point out of third place and 2 points out of second place in the Sid Rowe Division while Membertou finished with 1 of a possible 4 points over the weekend and now stand at 7-4-2 for 16 points.

 
The AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs racked up their 14th win of the season Sunday evening at home 4-3 over the Brookfield Elks and have now accumulated 29 of a possible 30 points in 15 games to date this season.   Will Fitzsimmons and Callum Bouma exchanged goals in the opening period to leave the clubs tied at 1 after twenty minutes.  In the second Fitzsimmons goal, the fourth of the period tied the game at 3-3 after Ben Fraser and Connor Miller had given the Elks a 3-2 lead.  Ben Fraser gave the Elks a 2-1 lead 11 seconds into the second before Jake MacDonald tied it for the Jr. Bulldogs at 2-2 38 seconds later.  Connor Miller put the elks ahead 3-2 before the Bulldogs Will Fitzsimmons tied the game at 3-3 entering the third period.  Early in the third Fearghus MacDonald scored his 13th of the season and it was the only goal of the third to give the Jr. Bulldogs the 4-3 verdict.  Antigonish outshot Brookfield 37-23 and took the season series 2-0, outscoring the Elks 9-7 in the two games played between the clubs.  While their record may not indicate it yet, the 1-10-1 Elks are proving to be a real competitor this season playing exceptionally close games with a number of teams as they prepare for their weekend road trip to Cape Breton this Saturday and Sunday to play Membertou and Eskasoni.
 
Liverpool   4      Sackville   3
 
The Liverpool Privateers quickly regrouped after their stunning 3-2 overtime loss to Cumberland Saturday evening at Queens Place Emera Centre to squeak by the Sackville Blazers 4-3 Sunday afternoon in Liverpool.  The win for the 7-4-3 Privateers brings them to within 4 points of the first place Blazers in the Fred Fox Division.  Kayden Nickerson scored 31 seconds into the opening period which proved to be the only goal of the first and the Privateers were up 1-0 after one.  There was a flurry of scoring in the second as the teams were deadlocked at 3-3 after forty minutes.  Nickerson added his second of the afternoon on the power play and Alec Howie a single marker for the Privateers while Degen Noble scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season and Stephen Purdy added a single marker for the Blazers. With 5:42 left in regulation, Josh Nicholson on the power-play scored the game winner for the Privateers who outshot the Blazers 43-27.  The Blazers now return home Monday night in hopes of avoiding a three-game losing streak when they host the Capstone Cole Harbour Colts.  The Privateers will now get ready for the Colts this Saturday, Dec 4 before thinking about their game with the Jr. A Bulldogs in Antigonish Friday evening Dec 10 and a home game with Eskasoni Sat Dec 11th.
 
Eskasoni   5      Valley Maple Leafs  3
 
Thomas Simon scored his 12th, 13th and 14th goals of the season to pace the Jr. Eagles over the Valley Maple Leafs 5-3 in Eskasoni Sunday afternoon.  Simon and Matthew Benedict of the Leafs traded goals in the opening period before Simon completed his hat-trick with a pair in the second period to put the Jr. Eagles up 3-1 after forty minutes.  Andrew McCarron and Ryan MacDonald on the power-play tied it for the Leafs, MacDonald’s goal coming with just 5:32 left but the Leafs couldn’t hang on as MacKenzie Erickson notted the game winning goal with 3:29 left in regulation and Adam Wilison put one into an empty net with 1:04 showing on the clock to give the 5-9-0 Jr. Eagles the 5-3 win over the 4-9-0 Leafs.  The Jr. Eagles outshot the Leafs 43-31 and they will play the second game of their regular season home and home Friday Dec 10 in Windsor at 7:30 p.m.
Dec 1, 2021
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Blues stun Liverpool -- Leafs upend Membertou

A shocker in Liverpool at the Queens Place Emera Centre Saturday evening as the Cumberland Blues came back from their shut-out loss to the Pictou County Scotians Friday night at home to eke out a 3-2 sudden-death overtime win over the Privateers.  Zack Gould’s goal just 21 seconds into the five-minute overtime period was all the Blues required for the win and to improve their record to 4-9-1.  Alec Howie and Jacob Estabrooks tallied single markers in the first as teams entered the second tied at 1-1.  Liverpool’s Whelan Matthews goal in the second provided the Privateers with a 2-1 lead after forty minutes before Jacob Estabrooks with his second of the game tied it for the Blues mid-way through the third.  Jacob also assisted on the overtime winner while Jessie Estabrooks chipped in with a pair of assists.  Joshua Doyle was rock solid in the Blues net, turning away 49 of 51 shots as Liverpool outshot Cumberland 51-25.  Daniel Kline assisted on both goals for the Privateers.
 
Capstone Cole Harbour 4      Brookfield   3
 
The Capstone Cole Harbour Colts after their upset win over the Sackville Blazers at home Friday evening went to the Don Henderson Memorial Sportsplex Saturday afternoon Nov 27 and nosed out the Brookfield Elks 4-3 to even their record at 5-5-0 in the 21-22 NSJHL season.  Will MacRae provided the Colts with a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes before Evan McNea tied it for the Elks 1:40 into the second period.  Cole Good then put the Colts up by a goal once again with 8:31 to play in the second.  With only three goals in the opening two periods, the teams launched up their offence in the third period with a pair of goals apiece.  Brayden Hooper-Richard put the Colts ahead 3-1 4:29 into the third before the Elks stormed back with a pair as Connor Miller scored for the Elks 1:16 later and that in turn was followed by a tying goal from Noah Latimer 1:45 later.  The flurry of scoring finished 1:20 later when Tyler Puma scored the game winner for the Colts who outshot the Elks 39-29.  MacRae, Good, and Puma all added a single assist for the Colts while Latimer also added an assist for the Elks.
 
Valley   4     Membertou  2
 

 

Andrew McCarron had a prolific night on offence for the Valley Maple Leafs scoring once and assisting on his team’s other three goals as the Leafs after losing in Port Hawkesbury Friday night, rallied to defeat the Membertou Jr. Miners 4-2.  McCarron’s goal in the first period Saturday came on a penalty shot and Ben Lawrence then scored for the Leafs to give them a 2-0 lead after one period.  Nathaniel Fuller then scored for the Jr. Miners mid-way through the second to bring the Jr. Miners back to within a goal before Brady MacLean made it 3-1 Leafs with under five minutes to play in the second.  MacLean’s goal proved to be the game winner.  Blake Cox then brought the Jr. Miners back to within a goal but it was all the scoring to be done by Membertou. The final goal of the game was an empty-net marker by the Leafs Griffin Radford with 3 seconds to play.  Aidan Durnford played a strong game for the Leafs in nets as the Jr. Miners outshot the Valley 45-29.  Ashton Paul assisted on other Jr. Miner goals.
Nov 30, 2021
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Bulldogs double Pens, Scotians blank Blues for third time this season

The AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs found themselves in quite a hockey game Friday Nov 26 in Lantz but still managed to go up 3-0 and then hang on in the third period for a 4-2 win over the East Hants Penguins.  The Jr. Bulldogs with the win increased their impressive record on 2021-2022 to 13-0-1 for 27 points.  The Pens are now 7-6-0 on the season.  The two teams played two fairly even periods but the Jr. Bulldogs were better at keeping the playing moving in the offensive zone than the Pens for periods of time.  Sam Mattie and Fearghus MacDonald went in 2 on 1 but MacDonald could not complete a pass from Mattie and the puck went wide of the net.  Back down the ice and the Pens Evan McHenry rang a shot off the Jr. Bulldogs crossbar. The Bulldogs scored first as Ben MacLellan connected with a wrist shot from the blue line.

 
 
The Pens came flying back but Ethan Wheeler’s pass over to Marshall Plaandowski and the Bulldogs Cody MacEachern came up with a nice glove save.  The Bulldogs then made it 2-0 as Will Fitzsimmons took a wrist shot high to the left hand side of the Pens net from the tip of the late face-off circle on a pass from Sam MacNeill with 3:59 remaining in the first.  Both teams had 11 shots on goal in the opening frame but the Jr. Bulldogs led 2-0.
 
To start the second, Brody Fraser of the Pens from in close let a hard shot go at MacEachern but to no avail.  Sam Mattie of the Bulldogs made it 3-0 only 59 seconds into the middle period as he maintained control of the puck and kept control until he forced a scramble for the black rubber in front of the Pens net and shoved it home for what proved to be the game winner.  The game changed somewhat at this point as the Pens really began to pick up their play.  Morgan Lake of the Pens came in with a booming shot only to be blocked by MacEachern in the Antigonish nets.  The Pens then did everything but score as Max Turner was in close, the first shot going off the pads of MacEachern as Turner trying as hard as he did could not get the puck up and over MacEachern who eventually ended up with a delay of game penalty with 9:48 yo play in the second.  Brodie Fraser then scored the Pens first goal of the game with some great stick-handling and he ended up putting the puck into the Antigonish net on the low left side of MacEachern.  East Hants outshot the Jr. Bulldogs 14-13 in the second but still trailed 3-1 over forty minutes.  Less than five minutes into the third period, Marshall Plandowski picked up a loose puck in front of the Antigonish net and scored short-handed to bring his team back to within a goal at 3-2.  Sam Mattie had a chance at the Bulldogs 4th goal while his team was playing short-handed when he went in on a break-away but could not get a clear shot away.  East Hants really began applying pressure in the third with some excellent scoring opportunities again by Brody Fraser, Turner again and Lake who missed in close.  The Pens outshot the Bulldogs 15-6 in the final period but the game ended with East Hants having their goalie pulled in the final 31 seconds, only to see Sam Grant grab a loose puck and skate in and put it into the empty Pens net for a 4-2 Antigonish final.  East Hants held a 40-30 shots advantage.  The Jr. Bulldogs will be looking for their 14th win of the season at home Sunday vs Brookfield while the Pens are idle until Friday Dec 4 when they host the Cumberland County Blues.
 
Elsewhere Friday……..The Sackville Blazers were surprised at CFB Shearwater Stadium by the Capstone Cole Harbour Colts by a score of 4-2.  It was the Blazers last regular season visit this year to Shearwater having defeated the Colts 4-2 in the opening game of the season back on Oct 1.  This game was only 30 seconds old when Degen Noble made it 1-0 Blazers before Benjamin Veinot came back to tie it for the Colts exactly 7 minutes later.  The Blazers still took a 2-1 lead after the first period when Daniel Surrette tallied for the Blazers.  The Colts reinvigorated in the second as Liam McCulloch and Connor McNamara score five minutes apart in the middle frame and the Colts took a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.  Mid-way through the third Will McRae scored an insurance goal for the Colts to give them a 4-2 win.  This was the first game of what would turn into 3 games in 4 days for both clubs as the Colts move to Brookfield Saturday afternoon and the Blazers to Liverpool Sunday afternoon before the Colts and Blazers play for the third time this season Mon Nov 29 in Sackville at 7:30 p.m.
 
Pictou  5      Cumberland  0
 
The Pictou County Scotians completed a four game regular-season sweep over the Cumberland County Blues with their 5-0 shut-out in Springhill Friday night.  Branden Connors recorded the shut-out for the Scotians who outshot the Blues 38-23.  Matt Chediac kept his consistent scoring pace going for the Scotians giving them a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes.  Connor Aucoin, another vaunted offensive threat all season for the Scotians and Blake Kontuk made it 3-0 Scotians after two periods before Aucoin with his second of the game and Thomas Kennaley scored the game’s final two goals in the third for the 5-0 Pictou win.  Matt Carson picked up a pair of assists for the Scotians as well.  In the four game regular season seres, the Scotians shut-out the Blues 3 times by scores of 4-0, 5-0 and 6-0 while winning a close one in Pictou 3-2.
 
Port Hawkesbury  6    Valley Maple Leafs  3
 
The Leafs opened their Cape Breton road trip in Port Hawkesbury Friday night and despite outshooting the Canadian Tire Store Pirates 42-39, simply could not find the back of the net as often as the Pirates did.  Cullen MacEachern and Nolan McClelland scored 3:50 apart mid-way through the first to put the home team up 2-0.  Then with less than 7 minutes to play in the first, both clubs exchanged goals exactly 2 minutes apart as the Leafs Eric Wozniewicz brought the Leafs back to within 2-1 before Jason Johnson made it 3-1 Pirates after twenty minutes.  Gregor Yoell scored the eventual game winner for the Pirates and then Cullen MacEachern short-handed notched his 2nd of the game and the Pirates were up 5-1.  Brady MacLean brought the Leafs back to within 3, 42 seconds after MacEachern’s short-handed effort and it was 5-2 Strait Pirates after 40 minutes.  Gregor Yoell’s second of the game made it 6-2 Pirates wth under 8 minutes to play and Matthew Benedict rounded out the Leafs scoring with 32 seconds left in regulation to make the final 6-3 Canadian Tire Store Strait Pirates.  Matthew Raikke added 3 assists for the Pirates.
Nov 29, 2021
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Bulldogs highest scoring team - Valley and Brookfield need work on defence

With the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League having surpassed the 1/4 mark of their 2021-22 Regular season and with some teams closing in on the half-way mark, one always sees the scores and of course the Goals Forward and Goals Against for each team in the standings.  However it not that often when teams offence on a per game basis is matched up with other teams in the league, so today we will look at goals being scored per game and goals being allowed per game by individual teams.

 
First, we will scan the offence and teams are listed from top to bottom in their offensive production per game.
 
1.   Antigonish —— 5.1
2.   East Hants — 5.0
3.   Port Hawkesbury — 4.4
4.   Sackville — 4.2
5.   Membertou — 3.9
5.   Eskasoni — 3.9
7.   Liverpool — 3.7
7.   Pictou — 3.7
8.   Capstone (Cole Harbour) — 3.5
9.   Valley — 3.0
9.   Brookfield — 3.0
10. Cumberland - 2.5
 
The League’s two highest scoring teams will collide in Lantz Friday night at 7:30 as the 12-0-1 AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs travel to play the East Hants Penguins.
 
Now a look at teams who will need some improvement on defence.  Teams are listed from top to bottom in least goals allowed per game.
 
1.  Port Hawkesbury — 3.0
2.  Pictou — 3.1
2.  Liverpool - 3.1
2.  Sackville — 3.1
3.  Antigonish — 3.3
3.  Membertou — 3.3
4.  East Hants - 3.5
5.  Cumberland - 4.4
6.  Cole Harbour (Capstone) — 4.6
6.  Eskasoni — 4.6
7.  Valley — 5.1
8.  Brookfield - 5.4
Nov 24, 2021
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Jr. Bulldogs lose first of season, Strait Pirates lose 3rd straight

The Pictou County Scotians recorded their 5th win in nine games in the NSJHL this season and the win was even larger as they defeated their arch-rivals the Antigonish AA Munro Jr. Bulldogs 3-2 in sudden-death overtime Sunday evening in Trenton and in the process handed the Jr. Bulldogs their first loss of the season after Antigonish had won 12 in a row.  Connor Aucoin and Matt Carson who both had three point nights fr the Scotians had superlative games for Pictou and goaltender Jack Cameron was strong turning away 43 of 45 shots he faced as the Jr. Bulldogs outshot the Scotians 45-33.  Aucoin with his goal and two assists now has 11 goals and 11 assists on the season.  His goal in sudden-death came 51 seconds after the drop of the puck for the five-minute sudden death overtime.  The League Leader in Goals Sam Mattie for the Bulldogs opened the game’s scoring on the power-play 6:13 into the first with his 15th of the season, before Carson tied it for Pictou 42 seconds later.  Carson’s 2nd goal was the only one of the second period and Ben MacLellan’s goal for the Bulldogs was the only one in the third.  The Jr. Bulldogs are now 12-0-1 for 25 points, 10 ahead of the second place Membertou Jr. Miners in the Sid Rowe Division.  The Bulldogs travel to East Hants for a showdown with the Penguins Friday night at 7:30 in Lantz.  The Pens are at 7-5 and will conclude their season-series with the Jr. Bulldogs having lost to them back in Antigonish on Oct 10 7-5. The Bulldogs will be back on home ice Sun Nov 28 for a 7:00 p.m. start against the Brookfield Elks.  Pictou meanwhile this weekend will conclude their 4 game regular season series with the Cumberland County Blues in Springhill Friday evening as they attempt to sweep the Blues.  The Scotians won the opening three outscoring the Blues 13-2.

 
Eskasoni  4     Port Hawkesbury  1
 
The Strait Pirates in their past three games are now 0-2-1 after being upended by the Jr. Eagles 4-1 Sunday in Eskasoni.  The Canadian Tire Strait Pirates were coming off a difficult 3-2 overtime loss in East Hants Friday evening after losing the previous weekend in a shocker to Brookfield as the Elks beat them 6-5 with a goal with less than a minute to play.  Port Hawkesbury is now 6-3-1 while Eskasoni with the win improved to 4-9-0.  Thomas Simon scored three times for the Jr. Eagles, hiss first proving to be the game winner, 1:36 into the second period.  He then scored on the power-play with 8:08 left in regulation to make it 3-1 Eagles and then put one into an empty net with 31 seconds left to make the final 4-1.  Kinnon Williams put the Jr. Eagles up 1-0 mid-way through the first before Jayden Muise tied it for the Strait Pirates 1:36 later in the first.  Both teams will play the Valley Maple Leafs at home in their next games with the Canadian Tire Strait Pirates hosting the Leafs Friday night while the Jr. Eagles will host the Maple Leafs in the conclusion of their three-game Cape Breton trip Sunday afternoon in Eskasoni.
Nov 23, 2021
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