WESTVILLE ROAD, N.S. – Some wins are bigger than others.
The Junior A Crushers put a nice W in their pocket before heading to the Annapolis Valley on Friday night, after the Maritime Junior Hockey League club knocked off the Summerside Western Capitals 2-0 on Thursday at the Pictou County Wellness Centre. That game came in advance of a home-and home set with the Valley Wildcats.
“(We are) definitely happy with the two points, because those are two points that not many teams are getting from Summerside,” coach Mike Danton said, referring to the Capitals and their won-loss record of 23-3-1 heading into the game.
The Crushers were solid defensively against a dangerous Summerside attack, and Andrew MacLeod made 40 saves in getting his third shutout of the season, a league-best mark.
“We limited the opportunities to their top players,” added Danton, “and when we made mistakes, Andrew bailed us out.
“Andrew played very well, and that’s what we will need from our goaltending this season to be successful, (and) our defence did a great job in front of our net and keeping their offence to the outside.”
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Dallas Farrell notched his 15th goal of the season early in the second period, and Jake Martin picked on an insurance goal in the latter stages of the final frame.
The Crushers were able to dodge some bullets in the middle period when Summerside’s power play went to work, but they were unable to solve MacLeod, who lowered his goals against average to 2.54, third-best in the league.
“Our penalty kill came up huge, as it has all season long,” Danton said. “Really proud of the way our group has rallied around adversity this season. It’s a testament to our commitment as a team.”
The surging Crushers are 10-1-1 in their past 12 games and host the Wildcats on Saturday at the PCWC (7 p.m. start time).
