COXHEATH, N.S. — Local fans will have an opportunity to watch some of the top peewee hockey players in the province perform in Cape Breton this weekend.
The players will hit the ice for the annual MacDonald/Gallagher Hockey Tournament, hosted by the Cape Breton County Minor Hockey Association at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre and Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre.
The peewee ‘AAA’ division will feature eight of the 16 teams who are participating in the Nova Scotia Peewee ‘AAA’ Hockey League this season. Meanwhile, the peewee ‘A’ Islanders will also be part of the tournament in their respective division.
Joining the peewee 'AAA' Islanders in the North Pool ‘B’ division are the Glace Bay Miners, Dartmouth Whalers and Truro Bearcats.
The Antigonish Bulldogs, Cape Breton West Islanders, East Hants Penguins and Pictou County Crushers will play in the North Pool ‘A’ conference.
“A few of the top five teams in the provincial league will be down here this weekend,” said Islanders head coach Sean Ferguson, who played in the tournament during his minor hockey career with the Sydney Steelers.
“In order for us to be successful, it’s going to take all 15 guys on the team — we’re pretty deep on the back end and have three lines that score, but it needs to be a team effort to do anything positive this weekend.”
The Islanders, who are made up of players from the Cape Breton County and Northside minor hockey associations, currently have a 2-16-1 record in the provincial league and are 14th in overall standings.
Despite the team’s record, the Islanders will get a boost to their lineup for the tournament with captain Rory Mills returning after missing most of the season with a broken wrist.
Between the pipes, Johnathon Coombes is the team’s lone goaltender and Ferguson said the club will rely on him heavily heading into the weekend.
"We’re excited to have our captain back,” said Ferguson. “As for Johnathon, we rely on him heavily between the pipes as our only goaltender and he’s an important player in our lineup.”
Cape Breton County will open the tournament Friday at 7 p.m. against Truro (13-5-3). The Bearcats are currently second overall in the league standings.
“They throw lines at you that can score,” said Ferguson of the Bearcats. “They’re a big and strong team and I believe they have a lot of second-year players — we have our hands full there.”
The Islanders will finish the round robin with games Saturday against Glace Bay (12-3-5) at 11 a.m., and Dartmouth (11-4-4) at 5 p.m.
All games are at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.
The semifinals are slated for Sunday at 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The championship game will be played later in the day at 1:15 p.m.
Along with the on-ice aspect of the tournament, Ferguson said the players have been given a “history lesson” on what the tournament means to the community and the individuals it honours each year.
“We brought them up to speed with the importance of all this and what it’s really about, honouring two great hockey people in our community,” said Ferguson.
The peewee ‘A’ Islanders will be on the ice at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre.
As of press time, the teams attending the event were not available. However, both semifinals will be played Sunday at 9:30 a.m. at the Membertou venue. The championship is set for later in the day at noon.
PEEWEE ‘AAA’ Schedule:
Location: Cape Breton County Recreation Centre, Coxheath
North Pool ‘A’: Cape Breton West Islanders, Antigonish Bulldogs, East Hants Penguins and Pictou County Crushers
North Pool ‘B’: Cape Breton County Islanders, Glace Bay Miners, Dartmouth Whalers and Truro Bearcats
Friday
- 2 p.m. – Antigonish vs. Pictou County
- 3:30 p.m. – Cape Breton West vs. East Hants
- 5 p.m. – Dartmouth vs. Glace Bay
- 7 p.m. – Cape Breton County vs. Truro
Saturday
- 8 a.m. – Cape Breton West vs. Pictou County
- 9:30 a.m. – Antigonish vs. East Hants
- 11 a.m. – Cape Breton County vs. Glace Bay
- 12:30 p.m. – Truro vs. Dartmouth
- 2 p.m. – Cape Breton West vs. Antigonish
- 3:30 p.m. – Pictou County vs. East Hants
- 5 p.m. – Cape Breton vs. Dartmouth
- 6:30 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Truro
Sunday
- 9:15 a.m. – Semifinal
- 10:45 a.m. – Semifinal
- 1:15 p.m. – Championship Game
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