MOUNT WILLIAM – Michael Dill didn’t slow down on Thursday.
The Junior A Crushers captain continued his torrid offensive binge, scoring a goal and assisting on three others in a 4-3 win over the Yarmouth Mariners.
Dill now has 20 points in the past 11 games (8 goals, 12A) and he and linemates Jacob Hickey and Dylan Riley have done the bulk of the offensive damage with the Crushers trying to chase down a playoff spot.
“That’s the kind of player he is,” said Hickey said of his centreman. “He’s the leader on the ice for us.”
Hickey scored twice in the game, including the winner with less than seven minutes remaining to break a 3-3 tie.
The Crushers busted out of the gate with some jump, drawing some Yarmouth penalties “because we were moving our feet,” coach Doug Doull said.
Dill set up Riley in the first minute of the game on a Crushers power play and Riley snapped one high over the right shoulder of Mariners goalie Leif Hertz; Dill later helped engineer Hickey’s first of the night, just after a Crushers power play expired in the second period to tie the game at two.
In the third, with Pictou County trailing 3-2, Dill charged the net and swatted in a loose puck with Hertz out of position. Later, he sent Hickey down the right side and the winger made his way to the front of the net to pot the eventual winner. It was his 18th goal of the season as the Crushers won at the Pictou County Wellness Centre for just the second time in 12 games.
“It was good to do it in front of our fans,” Hickey said. “They have been here even when we’re not winning games, so it’s nice to win it for them.”
The victory allowed Pictou County to keep pace with the Truro Bearcats, who beat the South Shore Lumberjacks 2-1 in a shootout on Thursday.
The Crushers were to play in Berwick against the Valley Wildcats Friday night, and a win for the Crushers would put them ahead of Truro and into the final playoff spot in the MHL’s South Division.
While acknowledging the importance of every win, Doull noted there’s a long way to go in the regular season. “It’s one win, and we’ll just saddle up again (Friday).”
Notes:
• Crushers defenceman Marc Gagnon had two assists in the game.
• Matt Normore made 24 saves in the County net. It was his second win in less than a week against Yarmouth. “Normy came up big for us,” said Doull, “but right now we’re playing good team defence and it’s showing.”
• To get bigger up front, the Crushers acquired forward Tyler Hutchinson last week. The former Ontario Junior Hockey League player, like a couple of other Crushers, has been battling the flu. He tried to play Thursday but had to leave the game and didn’t make the trip to Valley on Friday.
• Former Crushers winger Luc Poirier scored two goals for the Mariners, Keegan Gauthier had the other.
• All four games this season between Yarmouth and Pictou County have ended 4-3. Each team has won twice.