“We were extremely pleased with the effort of the boys,” said coach Jeff Green. “It was the best stretch of games we’ve played all year.”
The Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers were defeated by the Nova team from Antigonish 2-1 in the final game. Kevin Mason scored the Crushers’ only goal.
The Crushers advanced to the final with a 3-2 semi-final win over the Truro Bearcats on Sunday morning. In their round robin games, the Crushers posted three wins – 3-0 over the Newbridge Academy Senators, 5-3 over the Kings Mutual Wildcats and 8-0 over the Western Hurricanes.
“It shows the boys were taking the whole thing about it being a memorial tournament seriously – embracing that and taking it to heart to be respectful and make sure they had their best effort. The certainly did that over the whole weekend,” said Green.
Tournament co-chairperson Michelle Creed said she was pleased with the results.
“It was great to see a Pictou County team in the final.”
The tournament featured nine major bantam teams and 10 Bantam AA teams from across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The host team last won the tournament in 2006.
In the Bantam AA division, the host Pictou County Wonder Auto Crushers had a 0-2-1 record. They tied Moncton 3-3, and lost to Strait Richmond 5-3 and to Cape Breton County 3-0.
“Overall it was a huge success despite some of the challenges of the weather,” said Creed.
Due to the forecasted heavy snowfall amounts for Sunday, some games were rescheduled so teams could travel home ahead of the storm. The AA teams were originally supposed to play four games each, but the fourth games were dropped in order to have the championship game in that division played on Saturday instead of Sunday.
“We had to make the right decision for everybody and safety, based on the weather,” she said.
Two Bantam AA Crushers received major awards at the tournament. Nick Dykstra was named to the All-Star team for defence, while Captain Matt Munroe received the Pictou County ICE Award. That award is presented to the Pictou County player who best exemplifies Intensity, Contribution and Effort throughout the tournament.
Coach Harry Knoester said Munroe is a sound defenceman with a good slapshot. “He’s a good leader and very mature for his age.”
He said Dykstra is a tireless worker. “He works very hard – he’s got lots of energy. He puts a lot of effort into it.”
“They’re both really good kids.”
In the Major Bantam division, four Crushers took home top awards. Captain Jake Martin and Assistant Captain Kevin Mason shared the McKay Trophy for top scorer, presented in memory of Shawn and Lee Marie McKay.
“Jake and Kevin are definitely our big guns,” said Green. “They did an exceptional job, scoring 13 points (each) in three games. They were by far the leading scorers in the tournament. It’s quite an accomplishment to get two to three points, and they averaged over four points a game in the first three games.”
Goaltender Andrew MacLeod received the Gladwin Trophy for top goaltender, given in memory of Donald Gladwin. “In his first two games, he didn’t allow a goal. That’s quite an accomplishment as well.”
The ICE award was given to Assistant Captain Oliver Schnare. “He’s the guy who works very hard and is often overlooked,” said Green. “This was our way of recognizing his accomplishments and contributions to our team.”
The Pictou County Bantam Memorial Tournament is held annually in memory of three players and a parent -- Donald Gladwin, John MacDonald, and Shawn and Lee Marie McKay -- who were killed in a highway accident in 1984 while returning home from a tournament in New Brunswick.
“We were extremely pleased with the effort of the boys,” said coach Jeff Green. “It was the best stretch of games we’ve played all year.”
The Scotsburn Major Bantam Crushers were defeated by the Nova team from Antigonish 2-1 in the final game. Kevin Mason scored the Crushers’ only goal.
The Crushers advanced to the final with a 3-2 semi-final win over the Truro Bearcats on Sunday morning. In their round robin games, the Crushers posted three wins – 3-0 over the Newbridge Academy Senators, 5-3 over the Kings Mutual Wildcats and 8-0 over the Western Hurricanes.
“It shows the boys were taking the whole thing about it being a memorial tournament seriously – embracing that and taking it to heart to be respectful and make sure they had their best effort. The certainly did that over the whole weekend,” said Green.
Tournament co-chairperson Michelle Creed said she was pleased with the results.
“It was great to see a Pictou County team in the final.”
The tournament featured nine major bantam teams and 10 Bantam AA teams from across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The host team last won the tournament in 2006.
In the Bantam AA division, the host Pictou County Wonder Auto Crushers had a 0-2-1 record. They tied Moncton 3-3, and lost to Strait Richmond 5-3 and to Cape Breton County 3-0.
“Overall it was a huge success despite some of the challenges of the weather,” said Creed.
Due to the forecasted heavy snowfall amounts for Sunday, some games were rescheduled so teams could travel home ahead of the storm. The AA teams were originally supposed to play four games each, but the fourth games were dropped in order to have the championship game in that division played on Saturday instead of Sunday.
“We had to make the right decision for everybody and safety, based on the weather,” she said.
Two Bantam AA Crushers received major awards at the tournament. Nick Dykstra was named to the All-Star team for defence, while Captain Matt Munroe received the Pictou County ICE Award. That award is presented to the Pictou County player who best exemplifies Intensity, Contribution and Effort throughout the tournament.
Coach Harry Knoester said Munroe is a sound defenceman with a good slapshot. “He’s a good leader and very mature for his age.”
He said Dykstra is a tireless worker. “He works very hard – he’s got lots of energy. He puts a lot of effort into it.”
“They’re both really good kids.”
In the Major Bantam division, four Crushers took home top awards. Captain Jake Martin and Assistant Captain Kevin Mason shared the McKay Trophy for top scorer, presented in memory of Shawn and Lee Marie McKay.
“Jake and Kevin are definitely our big guns,” said Green. “They did an exceptional job, scoring 13 points (each) in three games. They were by far the leading scorers in the tournament. It’s quite an accomplishment to get two to three points, and they averaged over four points a game in the first three games.”
Goaltender Andrew MacLeod received the Gladwin Trophy for top goaltender, given in memory of Donald Gladwin. “In his first two games, he didn’t allow a goal. That’s quite an accomplishment as well.”
The ICE award was given to Assistant Captain Oliver Schnare. “He’s the guy who works very hard and is often overlooked,” said Green. “This was our way of recognizing his accomplishments and contributions to our team.”
The Pictou County Bantam Memorial Tournament is held annually in memory of three players and a parent -- Donald Gladwin, John MacDonald, and Shawn and Lee Marie McKay -- who were killed in a highway accident in 1984 while returning home from a tournament in New Brunswick.
