MOUNT WILLIAM
Kyle MacLennan has his players on board with the defence-first mentality.
The coach of the Pictou County Weeks Major Midgets saw his team win twice in South Shore on the weekend and in the process, they climbed over the .500 mark.
Goaltending was a factor, but that only tells part of the story.
“Our goalies did a good job, and we were eliminating second chances, putting ourselves in good positions defensively,” he said.
On Saturday in Lunenburg County, Andrew MacLeod made 21 saves for the shutout, while Carson Lanceleve, Rowan Sears and Blake Kontuk had the goals in Pictou County win’s 3-0.
It was a league-best third shutout of the season for MacLeod, who also leads the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League in save percentage (.962) and is second in goals against average (1.42,) behind only Alec MacVicar of the Halifax McDonalds (1.32) in that category.
In a 5-2 win over South Shore on Sunday, the Major Midgets got some more solid play between the pipes, only this time from Ben Gibbon, who stopped 37 of the 39 shots directed his way. Lanceleve scored twice and set up a MacLennan tally, while Benjamin Williams and Callum Bouma also supplied goals, with Sears and Hunter Martin each getting a pair of assists.
“Are they stealing games for us?” MacLennan said of his goaltending tandem.
“They might have stolen a game or two, but we’re limiting dangerous opportunities.”
The Major Midgets were able to put up big offensive numbers last year, but this team has had to embrace playing on the defensive side of the puck.
“Last year, we were winning games 7-5, 6-4,” said Oliver Schnare, an assistant captain.
“But Kyle has adapted and has given us more of a defensive look. You need passion at both ends of the ice, you can’t have a sense of urgency (on offence only). And it helps to have goalies that can keep us in games.”
MacLennan said good defensive play is a matter of “being detailed, having that mindset and taking pride (in good defensive play).”
With their productive weekend, Pictou County now owns a 6-5-1 won-less record, good enough for fourth place in the eight-team league. They play the Valley Wildcats Saturday at the Pictou County Wellness Centre in a 7:30 p.m. start, and will host Halifax on Sunday at noon.
