WESTVILLE ROAD, N.S. – The Pictou County Peewee AAA Crushers still have something to play for at the Atlantic hockey championships.
Hosting the tournament at the Pictou County Wellness Centre this weekend, the Crushers (2-2) will play Sunday at 11 a.m. for a bronze medal against the King'sCounty Kings (1-3).
The St. John’s Hitmen and Bedford Blues will square off for gold at 1 p.m. The winless Fredericton Canadiens finished out of the medal hunt.
Admission is free for all games.
• On Saturday afternoon in a meaningless contest (the medal-round matchups had already been determined), Alex Palmer made 15 saves in the Pictou County net as the Crushers blanked the Canadiens 4-0.
Kaden Smith had a goal and an assist, while Dominic MacKenzie, Kingsley Austin and Ben Marchand also tallied for the Crushers.
• Pictou County lost twice on Friday to drop to 1-2. The Crushers had a definite edge in territorial play in first game against the Hitmen, but couldn’t buy a goal and fell behind 3-0, until Lane Sim one-timed a pass from Cade Mosher to get Pictou County closer. The Hitmen finished with an empty-netter. Matthew Butler led St. John’s with two goals.
Needing a win to keep goal medal hopes alive on Friday night, the Crushers were beaten by Bedford 6-1, with Landon Steele getting the only Pictou County goal. Coen Miller’s two goals helped propel the Blues, who outscored opponents 24-4 in their first three games of the tournament.
• On Thursday, Keagan Dalton scored the winner for Pictou County with 1:03 left in the game, snapping a 1-1 tie and sending the locals to a 2-1 win over King’s County.
Clint MacLaughlin scored a power play goal midway through the first period, with assists from Owen Conrad and Kaden Smith. Jorja Burrows made 25 saves in the Crushers’ net.
