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Lumberjacks move 5 points up on Leafs
Lumberjacks record huge win while Membertou enhances playoff positioning. The following is a recap of play Saturday night in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League:
South Shore Lumberjacks 6 Valley Maple Leafs 2
The Lumberjacks knew exactly what they had to do, the big question after their struggles this season, was whether they could pull it off. They fought hard and did pull it off, a 6-2 win over the Valley Maple Leafs to open up a 5 point lead once again for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Fred Fox Division. It was a huge win as the two clubs played their fifth and final regular season game of 24-25 with the Lumberjacks finishing 4-1-0 against the Leafs while outscoring them 21-10. The Lumberjacks outshot the Leafs 49-24 and held period leads of 2-0 and 5-2. In the opening period Rory Browne and Aaron Lane’s power-play goal for the Lumberjacks was all the scoring in the first.
In the second period, the Lumberjacks outscored the Leafs 3-2 on goals from Elijah Rivera, Justin Hardwick-Brown and Daniel Kline who also recorded a pair of assists on the evening. Dylan Manning and Justin Banks tallied for the Leafs.
In the third, Brennan Coleman’s marker was the only one. John Shubaly, Brandon Rideout and Kyler Lohnes all chipped in with a pair of assists for the winners. The Lumberjacks improved their record to 11-12-0 for 22 points while the Leafs are now 8-14-1 for 17 points with both clubs each having seven regular season games left on their schedule. The Lumberjacks next three will be a pair against Brookfield and another with East Hants while the Leafs continue with what is now a five-game road trip with games in Sackville, East Hants and Sackville.
Membertou Jr. Miners 3 Eskasoni Jr. Eagles 2
The Jr. Miners never trailed in this contest despite it being decoded by a single goal. The Jr. Miners led 2-0 and 2-1 after the opening two periods. The win for Membertou bumped them into third place in the Sid Rowe Division with a 9-14-1 record for 19 points. The Strait Pirates have played one more game than the Jr. Miners but have 8 wins against 14 losses and 3 overtime losses to also give them 19 points but because they have one less win, they are relegated to fourth place at this time. Eskasoni had a real hitch put into their playoff aspirations as they fell to 5-17-2 for 12 points.
Adam Hicks and Keagen Corbett scored for the Jr. Miners in the opening period while Mitchell Gould brought the Jr. Eagles back to within one with his marker in the second period. Jarred Hicks put the Jr. Miners up by two once again with his goal in the third. Terrance Toney closed the game’s scoring for Eskasoni with his goal with only 2:13 left in regulation. Adam Hicks also recorded an assist for the Jr. Miners while Daniel Young recorded a pair of assists for the Jr. Eagles. The Jr. Miners outshot the Eagles 30-27.
East Hants 9 Brookfield Elks 4
The Elks were simply no contest for the high-flying East Hants Penguins who improved to 21-4-0 on the season and moved 6 points ahead of the second place Capstone Colts for top spot in the Fred Fox Division. East Hants took period leads of 3-1 and 5-3 before outscoring the Elks 4-1 in the final period to earn the 9-4 win. Noah Comeau led the way for the Penguins with a goal and 3 assists while Logan Durno scored twice and set up two others to pace the Penguins. Chris Caissie and Jayson Hanson both recorded a goal and 2 assists for East Hants. Jacob Sanford registered a pair of goals for the Penguins. Davis Cooper and Connor McNamara added the two other East Hants goals.
For the Elks, Jackson Spraggon, Bryson Currie and Ben Sparkes with a pair of goals did the offensive work for the Elks. The Penguins outshot the Elks 58-36.