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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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Blazers win their 10th of season, Blues sideline Elks

The Sackville Blazers continued their winning weekend at home Saturday evening by doubling the Membertou Jr. Miners 6-3.  Degen Noble notched the game winning goal, his 11th of the season, 23 seconds into the third period for the Blazers.  The Blazers opened up a 2-1 lead after one on a power-play goal from Noah Healy and another from Daniel Surrette.  Nathan MacMillan scored for the Jr. Miners in between the two goals.  Nathaniel Fuller with the first of his 2 on the evening tied it up for the Jr. Miners at 2-2 with 6:52 having elapsed in the second but Mitchell Comeau’s goal 1:46 later gave the Blazers a lead they never looked back on.  Comeau also helped out with assists on 3 other Blazers goals.  Following Noble’s game winner, Jack Walsh made it  5-2 Blazers before Fuller scored his second of the game.  The final goal of the contest went to Brian Grandy who scored short-handed.  Membertou outshot the Blazers 41-33.  This concluded the season series between the Jr. Miners and Blazers as the Jr. Miners won the first game on their home ice 6-4 back in October.  Sackville going into their game Monday Nov 22 against the Capstone Colts hold a down a 10-3-1 mark for 21 points and first place in the Fred fox Division, 7 ahead of both East Hants and Liverpool.

 
The Cumberland County Blues won their third game of the season and are now 3-8-1 on the year after doubling up the Brookfield Elks 4-2 Saturday afternoon in Brookfield.  The Blues jumped in front 2-0, after the clubs played a scoreless first periodon, on goals from Daniel MacKenzie and Jacob Estabrooks before Ben Fraser brought the Elks back to within 1 at the end of the second period.  Zack Gould scored the game winner for the Blues 3:13 into the third period to make it 3-1 before Connor Miller of the Elks on the power-play brought his team back to within a goal.  It stayed that way until Alex Griffith put one into an empty Elks net with 7 seconds remaining in regulation to make the final 4-2.
Nov 22, 2021
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Bulldogs express rolls on, Pens win in OT

The AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs just keep on winning, their latest coming at home Friday evening Nov 19, 8-5 over the Cumberland County Blues.  The Jr. Bulldogs received two goals from the League’s Leading point getter this season Fearghus MacDonald as he scored two of the Bulldogs first three goals.  MacDonald now has 11 goals on the season.  Darren Waterman and Will Fitzsimmons scored the other first period goals while Burke Beed and Aidan McBurnie tallied for the Blues who trailed by two goals after the first 4-2 and 6-4 after two periods.  Ryan MacLellan and Connor Doherty put the Bulldogs up 6-2 before the second period was even five minutes old.  Doherty’s goal proved to be the game winner as the Blues Ezekiel Cormier and Jacob Estabrooks scored power-play goals for the Blues.  The Bulldogs recorded their 12th consecutive win and have yet to lose this season, took a 4 goal lead again with goals from Sam Mattie, his league leading 14th and Sam MacNeil who also recorded three assists.  Jayden Matheson added a short-handed marker for the Blues with 1:24 left in regulation.  The Jr. Bulldogs outshot the Blues 39-31.  They lead the league in goals scored with 65 and are averaging 5.4 a game.  The game was rugged with 155 penalty minutes being dished out including 7 misconducts, 2 game misconducts, 2 fighting majors and a match penalty.  Antigonish will travel to Trenton Sunday night for a clash with the Scotians.

 
East Hants  3     Port Hawkesbury  2  (Sudden-Death Overtime)
 
The Penguins fell behind 2-0 at home in Lantz but recovered to record their 7th win in 12 games thanks to Logan Colter’s goal with only 37 seconds left in overtime.  Cullen MacEachern gave the Strait a 1-0 lead after one period and Gregor Yoell’s goal put the Canadian Tire Pirates up 2-0 after forty minutes.  1:47 into the final period, Bruen Fisher scored short-handed for the Penguins and then with 7:50 left Morgan Lake tied it for the Penguins to send the game into a five-minute sudden-death overtime.  AJ Guildford collected a pair of assists for the Pens who outshot the Strait Pirates 36-23.  The Pens are now idle until next Friday Nov 26 when they will take on the Jr. Bulldogs.  Depending on what transpires in Trenton Sunday Nov 21, the Pens could be facing off against a 13-0-0 Jr. Bulldogs team.  It will be the second game of the season between the two teams with Antigonish having defeated the Pens 7-5 back on Oct 10 in Antigonish.
Nov 20, 2021
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Blazers squeak by Valley, Jr. Miners outscore Colts

The Valley Maple Leafs played a disciplined game against the Sackville Blazers Friday night and after all their shortcomings this season, the Leafs actually deserved more but ended up losing 4-3 to the first place Blazers who recorded their 9th win in 13 games to date this season.  With only 2:05 being played in the opening period, Eric Wozniewicz gave the Leafs a 1-0 lead.  It stayed that way for the next 4:15 when the Blazers Alex Charest let a wrist go from the point which beat Aidan Durnford high to the left side as it went by his mask with Durnford partially on his pads in the crease.  Only 55 seconds later Degen Noble let a shot go from the face-off circle to score his 10th of the season for Sackville.  Noble with his 11th made it 3-1 Blazers on sloppy, sloppy defense by the Leafs as Noble picked the puck up to the left of Durnford after Durnford skated too far out of his net and was just making it back to the net when Noble dumped it into an almost empty net.  Play went back and forth in the opening period as the Valley was up in shots 5-4 before Sackville took command for awhile and outshot the Leafs 11-1 before the Leafs gained a new breath of life and outshot the Blazers 9-2.  Sackville had a 17-15 advantage overall in the opening frame.

 
In the second period Liam Ferguson for the Leafs scored the period’s only goal on a slap shot from the point which seemed to deflect off a stick as it went into the Blazers net but Ferguson was still given credit for the goal.  The Blazers Daniel Surrette missed on clear cut breakaway and then Mitchell Comeau picked up a loose puck for the Blazers and went in alone only to shoot it 15 feet over the Leafs net.  Brady MacLean missed a glorious scoring chance for the Leafs with the Sackville goalie down but MacLean with his stick on the puck simply could not lift it over and into the Blazers net.  The Leafs had another great chance going in 3 on 1 but Ryan MacDonald with two chances couldn’t capitalize either time.
 
In the third period, Daniel Surrette netted the game winner for the Blazers with 11:50 left as he shot from the point and it deflected at the last split second to Durnford’s left-side.  A mere 44 seconds later, the Blazers were sloppy with the puck enabling Brady MacLean to get a shot alone in front of the Blazers net to bring the Leafs back to within a goal.  However it was as close as they could get with the Blazers outshooting the Leafs 15-8 in the third period and 42-40 overall in the game.  Sackville goes right back into action at home Saturday afternoon against Membertou while the Leafs are off until their Cape Breton road trip next weekend when they will play Port Hawkesbury Friday, Membertou Saturday night and Eskasoni Sunday afternoon.
 
Membertou  7    Cole Harbour Capstone Colts  3
 
The Jr. Miners won their 7th of the season in 10 games with an easy 7-3 win over the now 3-5-0 Colts.  The Jr. Miners jumped in front 5-1 and led 5-2 after forty minutes.  Kody Groves and Coby McCarron scored first period goals for Membertou while Stephen Warwick tallied for the Colts.  The Jr. Miners went up 5-1 in the second with three consecutive goals by Josh MacKay who also added 2 assists, Nathaniel Fuller with his first of two to  go along with an assist and Blake Cox who also added an assist.  Tyler Puma scored the Colts second goal.  Josh Moore brought the colts to within a pair with 6:18 having been played in the third but Fuller with his second of the game and AJ Ley scored the Colts 6th and 7th goals.  Membertou outshot the Colts 33-30.  The Jr. Miners finish their HRM weekend road trip in Sackville Saturday evening.
Nov 20, 2021
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Blazers lead Fox by 3 points but a lot might change between now and Christmas break

The Liverpool Privateers entered the confines of the Sackville arena Mon Nov 15 hoping to tie the Blazers for first place in the Fred Fox Division.  This did not happen but they also did not fall 4 points behind the Blazers either as the Privateerss settled for a hard fought 4-3 shoot-out loss to the Blazers, leaving them three points out of first place with a 6-4-2 record for 14 points compared to the Blazers 8-3-1 mark for 17 points.  The teams were tied 1-1 after twenty minutes after Jude Greenwood put the visitors up 1-0 2:31 into the contest.  Degen Noble with just slightly more than two minutes to play in the first tied the game at 1-1 for the Blazers.  The second period saw only one goal and that went to the Blazers Sencer Langille-Crowe mid-way through the second.  The Blazers Noble on the power-play made it 3-1 Sackville before the third period was four minutes old but the Privateers stayed determined as Dylan Patterson on the power-play and Kayden Nickerson scored 1:47 apart in the latter stages of the third to send the game into sudden-death overtime.  The teams did no scoring in the five-minute overtime forcing the game into a shoot-out where three players from each team all took attempts and when it was over and done, 5 of the shooters were denied with Trey Faulkner, Sackville’s second shooter scoring to give his the team the victory.  Degan Noble an Brian Grandy failed in their attempts for the Blazers while Alec Howie, Daniel Kline and Kayden Nickerson all missed for the Privateers who outshot the Blazers 42-35.
 
As to who will be in first place come the Christmas Break in the Fred Fox Division is anyone’s guess at this point as the Blazers, Privateers and East Hants all have very busy schedules over the next 2 weeks.  The Privateers are idle this weekend but will play Cumberland and Sackville in back to back home games Sat Nov 26 and Sun Nov 27.  Sackville has three games in four days this weekend with an away game in the Valley tonight at 7:30, a home game Sat Nov 20 at 5:30 against Membertou and then a home and home Monday and next Friday Nov 26 with the Cole Harbour Capstone Colts.  As for the 6-5-0 East Hants Penguins, they have five upcoming games, all against Sid Rowe Division opponents.  They entertain Port Hawkesbury tonight Fri Nov 19, Antigonish next Friday and Cumberland County Fri Dec 3 before playing a home and home series with the Pictou County Scotians Sun Dec 5 and Friday Dec 10.
Nov 19, 2021
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Jr. Bulldogs 11-0-0 after sweeping Eskasoni

The Antigonish AA Munro Jr. Bulldogs completed their weekend home and home with the Eskasoni Jr. Eagles Sunday in Eskasoni with their 11th consecutive win to begin the 2021-2022 NSJHL season.  Like so many other games, the Jr. Bulldogs struck first with Connor Doherty and Jake MacDonald putting the university town up 2-0.  Doherty finished the day with his goal while adding a pair of assists in the Bulldogs 5-3 win.  after giving themselves a 2-0 advantage, they allowed the Eagles to squeeze back into the game for a short time as Antle Denny and Kinnon Williams both scored to knot the game at 2-2.  It stayed that way until the final two minutes of the second period when Craig Landry put Antigonish back on top 3-2.  The Jr. Bulldogs took that lead to the dressing room after forty minutes and then came out in the third period and added two more from Sam Grant who scored the game winner which was followed by the Jr. Bulldogs final goal of the afternoon from Ryan MacLellan.  Antle Denny with his second of the afternoon closed out the scoring with the Jr. Eagles third goal with 14 seconds left in regulation.  The Jr. Bulldogs now return home for a game Friday Nov 19 when they host the Cumberland County Blues before hitting the road for two more in Pictou Sunday, Nov 21 and East HantsFriday, Nov 26.

Nov 19, 2021
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