League News

   

Colter nets a pair in Pens win

The East Hants Penguins will be looking to take a stranglehold in their Fox Division Final Best-of-Seven series with the Capstone Colts Thursday night in Lantz  after a 4-1 victory Tuesday night.  A win Thursday would give the Pens a 3-1 series lead.  Logan Colter was the key guy for East Hants Tuesday with a pair of goals including the game winner in the second period.  Nico Kane and Morgan Lake also scored for the Pens who held period leads of 1-0 and 3-1.  Brayden Hooper-Richard tallied for the Colts.  Game time Thursday in Lantz is 8:00 p.m. before shifting back to the Eastern Shore Community Centre Saturday for Game 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Mar 31, 2022

Andrew McCarron and Blake Cox lead the way

Andrew McCarron and Blake Cox of the Jr. Miners stole the show before a home audience Monday evening and paced the Jr. Miners to a 7-2 win over the AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs to crawl back into their Divisional Final, they now trail the Jr. Bulldogs 2-1 in the Best-of-Seven.  McCarron and Cox both scored three times with McCarron adding 3 assists and Cox 1.  It enabled both players to move into a tie for the playoff scoring race as McCarron now has 11 goals and 12 assists in 11 playoff games for 23 points and Cox 8 goals and 15 assists for 23 points.
 
Cox kicked the scoring off very early Monday in a game started late because of the Jr. Bulldogs bus breaking down shortly after leaving Antigonish.  Cox’s first goal came 7 seconds into the game, it was the first of five allowed by Bulldogs goalie Cody MacEachern who had one of his very rare off-nights allowing five goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Cole Good after 28 minutes of play.  McCarron scored two more in the first including the game winner at 9:25 while Sam Grant’s power-play goal finally put the Jr. Bulldogs on the board and the Jr. Miners led 3-1 after twenty minutes.  In the second McCarron did not waste any time as he finished his hat-trick 29 seconds into the second period.  Cox and Dylan MacDonald then put the Jr. Miners up 6-1 before Ryan MacLellan netted one for the Bulldogs who trailed 6-2 after forty minutes.  Cox completed his hat-trick in the third for the only goal of the period and the 7-2 win.  Antigonish did outshoot the Jr. Miners 40-33 but Hunter Shebib stood tall in the Jr. Miners net stopping 38 of the 40 shots.  Game 4 will be played in Membertou Wednesday at 7:30 before going back to Antigonish for a fifth game Friday night at 7:30 p.m.  Meanwhile:
 
The East Hants Penguins and Capstone Colts continue with the third game of the Fred Fox Divisional Final tonight at the Eastern Shore Community Centre at 8:30.  Game 4 in this series will be back in Lantz Thursday night.  Game 5 will be back on the Eastern Shore Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Mar 29, 2022

Colts score 3 late-Jr. Bulldogs go up 2-0.

The Capstone Colts and East Hants Penguins were deadlocked in a 5-5 draw with 1:25 remaining in regulation Sunday evening in Lantz in Game 2 of the Fred Fox Divisional Final.  As we have noted before, playoff hockey can be strange as overtime was not required, in fact the Colts scored three times sin the final 1:25 for an 8-5 win and they tied the Best-of-Seven Series at 1-1.  The score was 1-1 after one period and the Colts led 4-3 after forty minutes.  Tyler Puma was the big gun for the Colts with three goals and Joe Brown scored a pair for the winners including the game winner with 1:25 to go.  Tyler Puma recorded his hat-trick as he scored with 52 seconds left in regulation to put the Colts up 7-5 before Griffin Peers concluded the late game surge for the Colts with 19 seconds left in regulation.  Earlier in the final period, the Pens Evan McHenry tied the game at 4-4 with 6:36 gone in the third.  Tyler Puma scored his second of the game with 9:56 having been played to put the Colts ahead 5-4 before Bruen Fisher tied the game at 5-5 with 7:24 to go.  Other goal scorers for the Colts were Cooper Puma and Stephen Warwick.  Other scorers for the Pens were Brody Fraser, Logan Colter and Devin Meagher.  The Pens outshot the Colts 43-40.  Game 3 in this series goes Tuesday night at the Eastern Shore Community Centre with an 8:30 game start.  Elsewhere Sunday night:

 
Antigonish  5     Membertou  3
 
The AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in their Sid Rowe Divisional Final over the Membertou Jr. Miners with a 5-3 win at home Sunday evening.  The Jr. Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead after one period and led 3-2 at the start of the third.  Fearghus MacDonald scored twice and added an assist for the Bulldogs while Jake MacDonald, Will Fitzsimmons and Ethan Price into an empty net were the other Bulldog scorers.  Andrew McCarron, Alex MacKinnon and Nathaniel Fuller’s short-handed effort were the three goals scored by the Jr. Miners who outshot the Bulldogs 40-34.  Games 3 and 4 in this series will be played Monday and Wednesday night in Membertou with both games starting at 7:30 p.m.
Mar 28, 2022

Colts lose opener in Fox Final

For a second consecutive night, the Capstone Colts gave up a short-handed goal, luckily the one on Friday in their series-clinching win over Liverpool came with the Colts up 3-1.  Saturday night at the C.F.B. Shearwater Forum, it did not work as well for the Colts as Devin Meagher of the East Hants Penguins scored the game winner short-handed with 10:42 left in the second period to carry the Pens to a 3-2 victory and 1-0 lead in their Fred Fox Divisional Final series with the Colts.  The teams were tied 1-1 after forty minutes with Cooper Puma scoring for the Colts in the first period and Morgan Lake on the power-play for East Hants in the second period.  Evan McHenry then gave the Pens a 2-1 lead with his 6th goal of the playoffs to go along with 10 assists for a 2-1 Penguins lead before Meagher’s goal, also his 6th of the playoffs.  It stayed 3-1 East Hants for only 1:21 before the Colts Griffin Peers proved the Colts with their second and last goal of the game.  The Colts outshot East Hants 30-24.  Game 2 in this series goes tonight in East Hants at 6:30 with game 3 back in Cole Harbour Place Wednesday night.
 
The Sid Rowe Divisional Final resumes in Antigonish tonight between the AA Munro Jr. Bulldogs and the Membertou Jr. Miners.  The Jr. Miners will try and even the series after being balanced 3-0 on Friday night.  Game time in Antigonish tonight (Mar 27) is 7:30 p.m.
Mar 27, 2022

Colts advance - Bulldogs win Game 1

It is the way playoff hockey has generated fathoms and fathoms of high octane interest over many years whether it be Junior Hockey or the NHL, that being the 7th game of a playoff-series before a sold-out arena.  This was exactly the case for the C.F.B. Shearwater Forum Friday evening as people were literally standing wherever they could to see as every seat in the house had been sold.  Cheering fans with a large contingent on hand from Liverpool saw a wide-open 7th game of the Fox Divisional Semi-Final.  This time despite four consecutive overtime games, the Colts nosed out the Privateers in regulation 3-2 and will open the Fox Division Final Saturday night in Shearwater against the East Hants Penguins at 7:30.  Game 2 will be back in Lantz Sunday night at 6:30 p.m.
 
As for the thrilling 7th game Friday night,  Liverpool dominated play for different stretches of time in the offensive zone and were rewarded with the first goal of the game as Kayden Nickerson was left alone unprotected to the right of Colts goalie Alex MacVicar and Liverpool took a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes.  Liverpool outshot the Colts 16-9 in the first and 37-27 overall but MacVicar played superbly including key saves on Daniel Kline and Nickerson in front of the net early in the first.  Malcom Bussey had a clear break for the Privateers but he shot it directly on MacVicar who made a pad save.  Bussey missed a golden scoring opportunity when he shot and as it appeared the puck was going into the net, it ended up sliding across the crease and staying out.  On another 1st period opportunity, the Privateers with the puck in the crease, seemingly ready to put it in when the play was blown down rather quickly by an on-ice official.  Tyler Puma missed close in front of the Privateers net and it was the best scoring chance for the Colts in the opening period.
 
In the second, the Privateers Nickerson missed in close to the right of MacVicar.  Nickerson and Daniel Kline both played outstanding games for the Privateers and missed an excellent 2 on 1 scoring chance with about five minutes gone in the second.  The Colts Brayden Hooper-Richard went in on a partial break but he let a clear shot go and it sailed to the far right of Larade in the Liverpool net.  Gage Zwicker of the Privateers took the first penalty of the game with 12:10 left in the second for cross-checking and with 53 seconds left in the Colts power-play, Brady Crossley scored his fifth power-play goal of this year’s playoffs as a shot was tipped in after the puck hit Larade and the game was tied 1-1 after forty minutes.  The Colts Ben King almost made it 2-1 as he missed close in on a sharp shot.  The Colts picked up their play considerably in the second half of the middle period with Hooper-Richard missing in close and Crossley hitting Matt Osborne with likely the stiffest check of the night at the Colts blue line.  Kline had without a doubt the highlight play of the night as he split the Colts defence on a beautiful play but then missed in close.  Dylan Patterson had another excellent chance for Liverpool as he had a wide-open net with the puck laying at his skates but he somehow could not gain proper possession and failed to score.  The Colts then came back and were all over the Liverpool net in every possible manner with 47 seconds remaining in the second but they could not score.  Liverpool had a 13-12 shots advantage in the second.  The third period was somewhat of a different story as the Privateers coughed up the puck in front of their net twice early in the third.  Then in a span of 54 seconds, the Colts Connor McNamara and Tyler Puma connected for the go-ahead goal and then the game winner.  McNamara pounced on the puck directly in front of the Liverpool net to make it 2-1 before Puma tallied the game winner.  The Privateers then took the game’s third minor penalty with 17:01 to play in regulation, only to see Malcom Bussey score short-handed as he was wide open in front of the Colts net.  Bussey and Kline then went in 2 on 1 for Liverpool but Kline’s shot sailed over the Colts net.  With just under 8 minutes to play and the Colts serving the last minor of the game, Liverpool mounted some pressure as they were all over the Colts net but came away frustrated and empty-handed.  Tyler and Cooper Puma came in close on a great passing play but were denied by Larade.  With 3:31 to play, the Privateers were once again all over the Colts net but could not find the magic to tie the game at 3.  Liverpool applied the pressure in the closing stages and pulled Larade twice but somehow could not come up with the tying goal and lost the series 4 games to 3.  Elsewhere Friday Night:
 
Antigonish  3    Membertou  0
 
The opening game of the Sid Rowe Divisional Final was played in Antigonish with Cody MacEachern earning a shut-out in the AA Munro Jr. Bulldogs 3-0 whitewashing of the Jr. Miners. The teams played a scoreless first period but Ryan MacLellan and Jake MacDonald scored in the second for Antigonish before MacDonald added his second of the game in the third to make the final 3-0.  The teams fired 31 shots apiece at each other with Hunter Chenhall playing nets for the Jr. Miners.  Game 2 will be in Antigonish Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
Mar 26, 2022

Game 7 in Shearwater - Game 1 in Antigonish

The Liverpool Privateers will need another solid performance from net minder Keaghan Larade as they travel to C.F.B. Shearwater Friday night for Game 7 in their Fox Divisional Final with the Capstone Colts in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League.  The Colts won the opening three games of the series including the third game 2-1 in overtime, yet the Privateers simply refused to quit and have come back to win the last three games all in overtime by scores of 1-0, 4-3 and 4-3 again, this one in double overtime.  Larade has stopped 199 of 213 shots in this series and has a save percentage of .934 and a Goals Against Average of 1.95.    Joshua McCarther has been strong in the nets for the Colts as well stopping 194 of 209 shots for a .928 save percentage and a Goals Against Average of 2.54.  Both teams have managed one short-handed goal apiece in the six games but the Privateers have proved to be more effective on the power-play scoring 11 times versus the Colts 8.   Of the Colts 8 Power-Play Goals, Brady Crossley has scored 4.   The Colts leading goal scorer and point getter in the series is Cooper Puma who has netted 5 including three power-play markers and Stephen Warwick who has scored twice and added 5 assists. Daniel Kline has garnered 11 points for the Privateers with 3 goals and 8 assists while Kayden Nickerson and Daniel LeBlanc have both scored four times and added 6 assists for 10 points.  The Colts have outscored the Privateers 17-15 over the 6 games while in the regular season despite winning two of three from the Privateers, Liverpool outscored the Colts 11-10.  Buckle your belts as these two teams have played a heckuva series and only one team can leave C.F.B. Shearwater tonight with a berth in the Fox Division Final against the East Hants Penguins. Who that will be is absolutely anyone’s guess at this point. Game Time tonight in Shearwater is 7:30.  Elsewhere Friday night….

 
 
It will be Game 1 in the Rowe Division Final between the AA Munro Antigonish Jr. Bulldogs and the Membertou Jr. Miners at 7:30 in Antigonish.  Both teams have been dynamic on special teams to date in the 21-22 playoffs with the Bulldogs scoring eight power-play goals and 2 short-handed markers while the Jr. Miners have scored 6 power-play goals while adding four short-handed markers.  Blake Cox has been the driving force on offence for the Jr. Miners all season registering 14 goals and 10 assists in the regular season and then scoring 5 additional goals in the playoffs while adding 12 assists.  Josh MacKay has also played a dominant role with 12 goals and 5 assists for 17 points in 9 playoff games.  Andrew McCarron a late season pick-up from the Valley Maple Leafs in a trade has also played remarkably scoring 7 goals and adding 9 assists for 16 points.  Of course, no one should ever forget the League’s MVP Fearghus MacDonald and the Jr. Bulldogs Sam Mattie who put up 31 goals and 81 points during the regular season, a regular season in which the Bulldogs went 21-0-1 and were 23-0-1 before losing two in a row in their semi-final series with the Strait Pirates.  Goaltending has been exemplary as well with Cody MacEachern stopping 402 of 446 shots during the regular season for a .901 save percentage while Spencer Shabib and Hunter Chenhall have shared duties all season for the Jr. Miners.  Shebib recorded a 2.84 Goals Against Average and Chenhall a 3.10 GAA.  Game time tonight in Antigonish at the Arena is 7:30 p.m.
Mar 25, 2022
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