Three teams on the brink of elimination.....two games decided in overtime | NSJHL

Three teams on the brink of elimination.....two games decided in overtime

Posted on March 8, 2026 (Updated March 8, 2026)

By Dan Boyd

Three teams on the brink of elimination.....two games decided in overtime

Two exciting over-time thrillers in Nova Scotia Junior Hockey Playoffs Saturday night as eight teams hit the ice in their Divisional Semi-Finals. The following is a recap:

South Shore 3 East Hants 2

After a 6-1 thumping Friday night in Lantz, it did not look good for the South Shore Lumberjacks in Game 3 of their Fred Fox Divisional Semi-Final. The Penguins jumped in front 2-0 on goals from Nick Morin in the second period and Finn Morris in the third before the Lumberjacks settled down and scored twice in the third, only 41 seconds apart by Will Cook and Jack Piper. It then was Brennan Coleman to bring the lights down for the home Lumberjacks as he scored with 2:40 left in the first overtime period and provided the Lumberjacks with a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead. Jack Piper also added a assist for the winning team while Kegan Greencorn turned away 33 of 35 shots he faced in the South Shore net and Colby Brown played another strong game for the Penguins turning away 45 of 48 shots. Game 4 in this series with the Lumberjacks now up 2-1 goes Monday night in Lantz at 8:00 p.m.

Eskasoni Jr. Eagles 5 Pictou County Scotians 4 (Overtime)

Once again the Pictou County Scotians could not hang onto a lead, a problem they have experienced throughout this series as they jumped in front of the Eskasoni Jr. Eagles 3-1 only to lose 5-4 in overtime on a goal by Keegan O’Neill with 2:01 remaining in

the first sudden-death overtime. O’Neill also banked an assist on the evening while Marcellus Francis recorded 3 assists.

Kendrick Marshall opened the game’s scoring in the first period before the Scotians stormed back with 3 consecutive goals in the second period with two from Drew MacIntyre, one of them on the power-play, who also had an assist and Chris Jorden who also recorded an assist. In the latter stages of the second, Noah MacKinnon brought the Jr. Eagles back to within a goal.

In the third Mitchell Gould and Pierce Hutchings put Eskasoni up 4-3 before Lane Lochead tied it for Pictou with 18 seconds left in regulation to send the game into sudden-death overtime. Andrew Burke stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the Eskasoni nets while Eli James was also razor sharp for the Scotians turning away 49 of 53 shots.

The Jr. Eagles will have a chance to sweep the series with a win tonight in Trenton. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

Colts 5 Oxen 1

The Capstone Colts are heading back to Shearwater Wednesday night in hopes they can sweep the Windsor Oxen in four straight and advance to the Fred Fox Divisional Final against either the South Shore Lumberjacks or the East Hants Penguins. The Colts who won the opening two games of this series by counts of 6-3 and 6-5 defeated the Oxen 5-1 Saturday night in Windsor.

To win four consecutive games after losing the first three is not out of the question as it has been done a few times over the years but it is still a rarity. The only recent time in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League was when the Lumberjacks stormed back to win four in a row after falling behind East Hants 3-0 two years ago.

In Saturday’s game, the Oxen were never really in it falling behind 2-0 and 3-0 after the opening two periods while being outshot 50-45. Liam Andrews scored three times for the Colts giving him 4 goals and 4 assists in the three games and making it difficult for the Oxen to come up with a plan to slow Andrews down. Cooper Puma has been another deadly offensive force for the Colts as he scored once Saturday night and has now registered three goals and three assists in the the three games. Jacob Train-Willis added the other Colts goal while Cody Garcin collected three assists and Brady Wamboldt collected a pair. The lone Oxen goal was scored by Matthew Shields. Carter Aguirre stopped 44 of 45 shots in the Colts net and Graydon Mole stopped 45 of the 50 shots he faced in the Oxen nets.

Antigonish 4 Port Hawkesbury 1

The Jr. Bulldogs took a 3-0 series lead following a 4-1 win in Port Hawkesbury despite being outshot by the Strait 34-23. Game 4 will be played in Antigonish Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. Tanner Etheridge and Gavin Clarke tallied for the Bulldogs in the opening period while Cameron Buffett on the power-play scored the only goal of the series for the Pirates to date as they have been outscored 10-1 in the three games. The teams battled a scoreless second period before Logan McGrath and Cameron Bell scored goals with under four minutes to play to give Antigonish their 4-1 victory and 3-0 series lead. Ethan Chisholm in the Bulldogs net turned away 33 of 34 shots after recording shut-outs in the first two games of the series while Neil MacLean took over in the Port Hawkesbury nets and turned away 19 of 23 shots. Brody MacPherson collected a pair of assists for the Bulldogs.

Three teams on the brink of elimination.....two games decided in overtime

Latest News

Our Partners