PICTOU COUNTY – Friday’s game between the Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers and Truro Bearcats had two important points on the line, helping to determine their positioning in the NSMBHL standings heading into playoffs.
The Crushers started strong like they did in their first game in the Bantam Memorial Tournament, but eventually fell 3-1, allowing the Bearcats to move ahead in the standings by two points.
Pictou County opened the scoring with the first goal of the game coming 51 seconds into the second period, Jeff Skinner’s second goal in two games. The Truro Bearcats bounced back 6:03 later with Jared Weatherbee scoring for Truro.
The second period ended tied 1-1.
“We started off good like we did yesterday, but once we scored a goal we started to let off the gas and that’s when they came back and go one,” said Evan MacLennan. “We tried to pick it up again and I thought we did some in the third, but it wasn’t enough.”
In the third both teams had opportunities early, but on the power play late the Crushers caught themselves out of position and the Bearcats captain Noah Archibald took advantage of it, getting a breakaway and putting the puck past Tyler Howe for a shorthanded goal.
Trailing 2-1, the Crushers pulled Howe, but Archibald would score an empty net goal to seal a 3-1 victory for the Bearcats.
“Tomorrow we definitely have to go out and win, there’s no question about it,” said MacLennan. “That was a tough game to lose, but there’s nothing we can do now.”
The Crushers have at least one game remaining in the tournament, Saturday against Kings Mutual at 5 p.m. They also have two games against Breton Sport Cougars (rescheduled games) to be played to round out their NSMBHL regular season. MacLennan said the team has to improve before they head into playoffs.
“We’ve just got to practice and work as hard was we can on the power play, five-on-five, four-on-four and every aspect of our game,” he said. “We just need to treat every game from now on like a playoff game.”
It is easy to point fingers and direct undeserved criticism towards the coaches, it seems that is the first thing that people want do. This is a tough situation that the players, coaches, manager and parents are in, and we as an organization support them all. When we took over this major bantam team we knew that it would be an uphill grind, as we were one of only two areas in the province that was left on its own. There are many opinions on what should be done as far as amalgamation or staying on our own go, and valid arguments for all of them. What the right answer is, that's something that we all continue to struggle with and work on. In the end, the staff and players of this team have the full support of the Weeks Hockey Organization, as we go through this together. We also greatly appreciate the support of our sponsor and our team strives to represent them in a professional manner at all times. Regards, Art Kennedy Director, Weeks Hockey Organization