(Editor’s Note: This is the last of a three-part series on Pictou County sports in 2017. If you feel your big moment – or someone else’s – was overlooked, please contact us at [email protected] and tell us about it.)
By Kevin Adshade
The News
PICTOU COUNTY
SEPTEMBER
• In early September, a Johnny Miles Running Events promotional trailer had to be cleaned after someone had spray-painted it about 10 days prior.
• On the weekend of Sept. 9-10, the Northern Nova United boys soccer team won a provincial championship.
• The Pictou County Albions won the Nova Scotia Intermediate A championship in Petit de Gras, Cape Breton.
• The Westville Miners won the Trenton Men’s League softball championship in September.
• On Sept. 24, the Pictou County Scotians retired the jersey numbers of Kale Mason and Noah Russell during a pre-game ceremony at Trenton rink. Mason died last May at Park Falls, and Russell was killed three years ago in a motor vehicle accident. The Scotians also paid tribute to board member Bill Roddick, who died in June at age 55.
OCTOBER
• Former Thorburn resident Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu and her horse All In, reached No. 1 in Canada in the sport of dressage.
• After a weeks-long battle with Hockey Nova Scotia, parents of Midget-aged hockey players were allowed to ice two Midget A teams in Pictou County. Some of the parents had objected to having a Midget AA team, which would incur much more significant travel costs.
• In late October, North Nova Education Centre won two medals at cross-country provincials. Raymond Simpson won bronze in the 6K run, Allie Sandluck had a bronze in the Intermediate girls 5K0. Northumberland Regional High School won a bronze in the Senior boys team event.
• The weekend of Oct. 28-29 saw the Pictou County Selects win three divisions at the Subway Way Cup (Peewee AA, Bantam AA and Midget AAA).
• On Oct. 30, Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean spoke at the YMCA of Pictou County’s Breakfast Birthday Bash.
NOVEMBER
• On Nov. 6, after some heated debate, Pictou County council voted against giving a $1,000 sponsorship to the Junior A Crushers. County council later denied a similar request from the Pictou County Junior Scotians. The Town of Trenton, however, would give the Crushers $250.
• On Nov. 10, New Glasgow’s Colin White was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. The retired NHL defenceman won two Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils.
• On Nov. 18, New Glasgow’s Shauna Fukes (at age 41) fought in an exhibition boxing match at a card held at Summer Street Industries. It was her first time in the ring.
• Pictou County boxer Brody Blair upped his pro record to 2-0 with a TKO of Alejandro Garcia in a match held in Cape Breton.
• In late November, the Pictou County Peewee Selects won a gold medal at the Wickfest female hockey tournament in Calgary.
• On Nov. 29, New Glasgow native and sportswriter Hugh Townsend signed copies of his new book ‘Remembering Pictou County,’ a vast collection of stories dealing with Pictou County athletes and builders, both past and present.
DECEMBER
• On Dec. 13, alumni from the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens played an exhibition game at the Pictou County Wellness Centre. The Habs alumni won the game 6-4.
• On Dec. 16, the Pictou County Major Bantam Bombers held a fundraiser for Oliver Smith, a Pictou County Wish Kid. Roughly $2,500 was raised as part of a league-wide initiative.
• Dec. 17 saw the Northern AAA Selects female Midget hockey team win again, to stretch their unbeaten run this season to 19 games.
• On Dec. 21, the seventh annual Cancer Sucks Cup was held in Trenton. The fundraiser/toy drive sees organizers Drew and Kait Graham deliver presents and gift cards to the IWK and the Ronald McDonald House in Halifax. The event is in memory of their son Oliver, who passed away from cancer in 2010.
• On Dec. 22, Stellarton native Blayre Turnbull was officially named to the roster of Team Canada, which will compete this coming February at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Troy Ryan, former coach of the Junior A Crushers, was formally named as an assistant coach for the team.
SPORTS QUOTE OF THE YEAR:
Coach Doug Doull, a day after the Junior A Crushers lost a playoff game against the Amherst Ramblers: “I slept like a baby last night. I woke up every three hours, crying.”
