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Still lots to be determined as to who will be playing who in Best-of-Five Mini Series

There are now only two days remaining in the 2021-22 Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League Season.  At this point, we know based on winning percentage that 3 of 4 teams have clinched a bye into the divisional semi-finals with a fourth to be determined over the next two days.  The three teams who have clinched are the 12-5-0 Capstone Colts from C.F.B. Shearwater, the 13-7-1 Sackville Blazers and the 20-0-1 Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs who were all in action Saturday night.  First off in Sackville, the Capstone Colts won their 9th consecutive game 4-1 over the Blazers and it was enough to allow them to clinch first place in the Fred Fox Division based on winning percentage.  The Colts concluded the regular season with a 12-5-0 record while the Blazers take their 13-7-1 record into Monday night’s game at home against Brookfield.  Unfortunately the loss to the Colts prevents the Blazers from climbing out of second place based on winning percentage.  The Colts will finish the regular season having played 17 games while the Blazers game against Brookfield will be their 22nd game of the season and if they win, they will finish with a 14-7-1 record.

 
In action Saturday in Sackville, the Colts jumped in front 2-1 after the first period while adding two more goals in the final period to win it 4-1. Tyler Puma scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season for the Colts with Puma’s second goal coming short-handed with 14:19 remaining in the third .  Stephen Warwick and Brayden Hooper-Richard with his 9th if the season were the other goal scorers for the Colts.  Noah Healy tallied the lone Blazers goal.  The Coltstook the regular season series 3-1 over the Blazers while outscoring Sackville 13-9 in the four games.Elsewhere Saturday:
 
Antigonish Jr.  Bulldogs  4   Cumberland County  1
 
The Jr. Bulldogs will complete their regular season at home against this same Blues team Sunday evening in Antigonish beginning at 7:30 but they are now 20-0-1 following their 4-1 victory in Springhill Saturday evening. Jake MacDonald scored his 7th of the season to go along with 26 assists for 33 points while Will Fitzsimmons, Logan Tramble,and Connnor Doherty added the other Bulldog goals who held period leads of 1-0 and 3-0 while outshooting the 5-13-1 Blues  35-24.Antigonish is guaranteed a first place finish in the Sid Rowe Divsion.
 
Pictou  4    Eskasoni Jr. Eagles 3
 
This game was close all the way before the Scotians finally won their 9th game of the season.  They held period leads of 2-1 and 3-2 with Hayden Burgess scoring his 5th goal of the season and Matt Chediac netting his 6th of the season.  Other Scotian goal scorers were Thomas Kennaley and Luke Young.  Jacob Denny and Dante Basque and Kinnon Williams on the power-play scoring for the Jr. Eagles,. who fell to 6-13-0 while being outshot by the Scotians 45-34.
 
Liverpool  7    Brookfield  1
 
The Privateers finished the season at 10-5-3 following their 7-1 win over the 2-14-1 Elks.  Liverpool took 3-1 and 7-1 period leads.  Daniel Kline netted his 14th and 15th goals of the season while Dylan Patterson also scored a pair.  Other Privateer goal scorers were Mattt Ormon, Joe Osborne and Josh Nicholson added singles.  The lone Elks goal was scored by Ben Fraser.  The Privateers outshot the Elks 48-29.
Feb 27, 2022
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Antigonish has yet to lose in regulation

The Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs after hammering the Eskasoni Jr. Eagles 7-2 Friday night in Antigonish are now 19-0-1 on the season for 39 points and within two games of going the entire 21-22 NSJHL season without having suffered a loss in regulation.  Nothing of course will be known for certain until they complete their home and home weekend series with the Cumberland County Blues.  The Bulldogs are guaranteed a first-round bye in the opening round of the playoffs and will advance directly to the Sid Rowe Divisional Semi-Finals.  The Jr. Eagles meanwhile fell to 6-12-0 and their next three games will be critical as to where they finish in the standings and who they will play in an opening round Best-of-Five Mini Series beginning later next week.  The Jr. Eagles are playing Pictou tonight, Port Hawkesbury Sunday at home and Membertou on Monday to round out their season.

 
Friday night, the Jr. Bulldogs took command early leading 2-1 after one on goals from Sam Mattie who also added an assist and Logan Tramble who finished with a pair of goals and an assist for a three point night.  Antigonish extended their lead to 5-1 after forty minutes on goals from Tramble, his second of the evening, Connor Doherty, and Chris Keyes who also added an assist.  The Jr. bulldogs went up 6-1 in the third with Fearghus MacDonald adding his 17th of the season only 16 seconds into the third period.  Curtis Novak scored the other Jr. Eagles goal and Jordan Etheridge finished the scoring for the Bulldogs to make the final 7-2.  Ethan Price also recorded a pair of assists for the Jr. Bulldogs.  Antigonish has now scored 107 goals in the 20 games they have played which works out to an average of 5.3 goals a game while they have allowed 57 meaning they have allowed 2.8 goals a game.
 
Three exciting nights of hockey left before we know the final standings and who will be playing who in the Best-of-Five Mini Series.
Feb 26, 2022
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If not Omnicron-then Ole Man Winter

Ole Man Winter continues to interfere

 
This is the final weekend of the regular season of the 2021-2022 Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League Season and the unrelenting Ole Man Winter refuses to provide teams with a break as they try to position each other in as Best a Position possible entering the playoffs scheduled to begin March 1.
 
With snow pounding in certain parts of Nova Scotia and travelling conditions anything but ideal, the Capstone Colts and East Hants Penguins  and the Pictou County Scotians and Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirate Games have been postponed for tonight.  The Scotians and Port Hawkesbury will make up their game on the final night of the regular season Monday night in the Strait.  The Colts and East Hants have had to be cancelled.  The only game now being played tonight is Eskasoni and and Antigonish in Antigonish at 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, a total of five games are on the schedule with the Colts in Sackville for a huge game with the Blazers.  If the Colts can maintain their eight-game winning streak and make it nine wins in a row, they could lock-down first place depending on how Sackville and Brookfield make out Monday night in Sackville.  With the Omnicron Break and the uneven number of games being forced upon teams because of the 2 month break and Ole Man Winter, the division standings are being decided by winning percentage.  The top two teams in each division will earn first round-byes into the division semi-finals while the other eight teams will each play a Best-of-Five Mini Division series to see who advances.  Other games Saturday have East Hants travelling to Windsor for a game with the Valley Maple Leafs, Liverpool hosting Brookfield, Pictou travelling to Eskasoni and the Jr. Bulldogs in Cumberland.
 
Sunday’s action will see Membertou in Pictou, Port Hawkesbury in Eskasoni and cumberland finishing a home and home with Antigonish.
 
The regular season concludes Monday night with brookfield in Sackville, the earlier mentioned game between Pictou and Port Hawkesbury plus another make-up game being played between Eskasoni and Membertou.  All games will be critical in determining playoff pairings.
Feb 25, 2022
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Jr. Bulldogs keep rolling

One can never predict hockey playoffs but if you look at the present day situation, it is going to be exceptionally difficult to knock off the Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs for the Nova Scotia Provincial Championship and a berth in the Don Johnson Memorial Cup in New Brunswick in late April.  The Bulldogs continued with their explosive play Tuesday night in Port Hawkesbury as they hammered the Strait Pirates 9-3 and now stand 18-0-1 atop the Sid Rowe Division Standings.  Antigonish presently have three of the League’s top four point people in Fearghus MacDonald who presently leads the league with 16 goals and 23 assists after adding 3 assists Tuesday.  Sam Mattie is second with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points after his three goal and one assist evening.  Jake MacDonald is fourth in scoring with 6 goals and 24 assists for 30 points.  The only player not a Bulldog in the top 4 is East Hants Penguin Evan McHenry with 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points.

 
The game in the Strait saw Jayden Muise score a pair in the first period including a power-play marker to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead after twenty minutes.  The second and third periods were completely different stories as the Jr. Bulldogs rifled off five unanswered goals, 3 from Sam Mattie and a pair from Ethan Price to put them up 5-2 after forty minutes.  The Bulldogs never slowed down in the third period as they outscored the Pirates 4-1 with Ethan Price’s third goal of the game short-handed being the final goal of the contest with 4:46 to play.  Jake MacDonald, Tyler Boyd, and Darren Waterman were the other Bulldog marksmen with Danny Gillis adding the third goal for the 7-9-1 Pirates.  The Jr. Bulldogs held a 47-22 advantage in shots.
 
Wednesday night’s game between Membertou and Eskasoni has been postponed until Monday night Feb 28, the final night of the regular season.
Feb 23, 2022
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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.
Feb 21, 2022
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MacDonald nets hat-trick, Bulldogs notch 17th win

The Pictou County Scotians have taken over third place in the Sid Rowe Division after a huge 5-1 win over the Eskasoni Jr. Eagles in Trenton Sunday evening.  Zach Houston who also connected for an assist opened the scoring for the Scotians on the power-play with 5:11 left in the opening period.  It stayed that way until Thomas Simon struck for his 16th goal of the season with 38 seconds to play in the first to leave the teams deadlocked at 1 after twenty minutes.

Hayden Burgess proved to be the star of the game for the Scotians as he scored the game-winner short-handed with 8:26 to play in the middle period.  Burgess also collected a pair of assists and the Scotians went to the third leading 2-1.  Thomas Kennaley, Blake Kontuk, and Blake Rogers with one into an empty net completed Pictou’s scoring in the third as they posted their 8th win of the season against a triplet of losses to overtake the Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates for third place in the division.  The Strait are 1 point back with their 7-8-1 record for 15 points.  As for the Jr. Eagles, it was their second loss of the weekend and 11th of the season to go along with 6 wins.
 
Antigonish  5    Port Hawkesbury  2
 
The Jr. Bulldogs on a hat-trick from Fearghus MacDonald, his 14th, 15th and 16th goals of the season carried the 17-0-1 Bulldogs past the Strait Pirates who actually led 2-1 after the opening period thanks to goals from Danny Gillis and Jack Neilsen.  A power-play marker from the Bulldogs MacDonald was squeezed in between the two Strait goals.  MacDonald added his 2nd and 3rd goals in the middle period, his third being the game winner and scored when the Jr. Bulldogs were playing a man short.  Jordan Etheridge and his Keyes who also added a pair of assists finished the scoring for Antigonish in the third period.  The Jr. Bulldogs outshot the Strait Pirates 46-37.
Feb 21, 2022
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