Backs against the wall

NEW GLASGOW - Everyone was happy to get a glance at John Brother MacDonald's fancy new scoreboard last night. Unfortunately, it didn't display what the locals hoped to see after 60 minutes, and as a result, the Pictou County Weeks Crushers are one loss away from elimination from the Maritime Junior A Hockey League playoffs.
Steve Pearson scored both Truro goals as the Bearcats sent most of a huge crowd home disappointed with a 2-1 victory. The Bearcats are now up 3-1 in the best-of-seven Maurice Bent Division semifinal.
"I don't think we played bad," Crushers head coach Troy Ryan said of the loss. "They scored a power-play goal, then they get a lucky bounce on the next goal, a delfected pass to the slot. We outshot them tonight, it's just a matter of depth."
There's very little room for error against Truro, and taking that penalty and an unlucky deflected goal were more than enough to put the Crushers behind the eight-ball.
Michael Hynes, who's playing hurt with a shoulder injury, scored a shorthanded goal in the final minute to give Pictou?County life, but it wasn't meant to be.
Alexandre Quessy was solid in defeat, making 20 saves. His counterpart, Richard Gagnon, kept the Crushers at bay with a key 30-save effort.
Game 5 goes Sunday in Truro at 7 p.m., and can be heard on CKEC.
Although the lead appears comfortable, the Bearcats haven't had an easy time with Pictou County this round, and head coach Shawn Evans won't relax until the fourth win is in the bag.
"(Pictou County) never gives up," Evans said. "We're in a good position, but there's a lot of work to be done. This is a proud team - organization - we're playing, and we don't expect anything less than gritty, low-scoring, mean games.
"That's what we're getting."
NOTES...Ryan said forward Andrew Joudrey (ankle) is likely done for the season...the Crushers added Brandon Mullins (Strait Pirates) to the lineup last night.