The puck is already in the net when Strait-Richmond goaltender Nick Kelly got back in an attempt to stop Cape Breton West sniper Ethan MacLean’s one-timer on a pass from Merrick MacLellan during U18 AA action in Port Hood on Sunday.
November 15, 2023
-by Bill Dunphy
The Cape Breton West Islanders are off to a 3-0 start in their new home, the Cape Breton Hockey Federation.
With no U18 AA division in the Scotia Minor Hockey League, the Islanders fought to get into the now seven-team CBHF which had already started earlier this season.
Now that they’re in, the Islanders are there to win.
The team started their season on Nov. 6 with a 9-0 win over the New Waterford Sharks, outshooting the home team 87-4.
On Saturday in Port Hood, in a rematch of last year’s provincial final, the Islanders defeated the Cape Breton County Islanders 7-1.
Ethan MacLean and Merrick MacLellan each scored twice and two assists with singles from Angus Beaton, Owen Heukshorst and Finley MacDougall.
Oliver MacDonald was in goal for the win.
And in their third game of the season, the Islanders took on the Strait-Richmond Pirates, who were also late in getting into the league, in Port Hood on Sunday.
The two teams played each other tough, with the Islanders taking a 3-1 lead in the first period, but with the Pirates whittling that lead to 4-3 at the intermission.
Olan Van Zutphen, at 2:12, opened the third period with a slap shot from the blue line that somehow found the five-hole on Pirates goaltender Blake Tanner.
The Pirates got back to within one goal again at 13:47 when Kyle Linden tipped a shot by Leeland MacNeil in the high slot past Islanders goaltender Hayden Gillies.
With Pirates net empty in the final minute, Cole Campbell sealed the deal with a 190-foot shot to make it a 6-4 Islanders win.
Both Van Zutphen and Caleb Timmons had two goals each for the Islanders. The MacLean-MacLellan connection combined on a beauty two-on-one goal with MacLean one-timing a shot past Nick Kelly in the second, who was pulled after that goal which made it 4-1 for Cape Breton West.
Islanders coach Bret Walker said the game was closer than it should have been.
“Every time we play, we have to get on them to not take it easy. The last two goals they scored were odd-man rushes. Our defence is really active on taking chances offensively, but they have to make sure they’re good chances,” he said.
Walker said beating last year’s provincial champs on Saturday was a confidence booster for the team.
“Last night, we rolled over, everyone working hard. The Strait work, they bring it every game, and they don’t make it easy. But hard work will beat skill every day of the week.”
This weekend, the Islanders have a home-and-home with the Glace Bay Miners. On Saturday, they are at the Dr. Bernie MacLean Cultural and Recreation Centre in Inverness at 7 p.m. The two teams do it again on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Glace Bay.
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