Rebels goaltender Luke Morrison tracks the puck as teammate Keltin Campbell and Dalbrae’s Bentley Cameron jostle for position in the slot during Friday’s playoff game in Inverness.
-by Bill Dunphy
With the Highland Region winners already determined, the Cape Breton West High School Hockey League started a five-team round-robin series last week to determine a league champion.
The five teams, excluding Eskasoni after the team withdrew from the league earlier in the season, played three games each with the two top teams to play for the league banner after March break.
Both the SAERC Saints and Richmond Hurricane went undefeated – the Saints went 3-0-0 while Richmond tied CBHA/NDA/Cabot to go 2-0-1 – and will meet in a final game or series that has yet to be determined.
Both teams were 1-2 in the regular season standings but each were upset in the Highland Region playdowns, with the Huskies-Eagles eliminating Richmond and the Dalbrae Dragons sidelining the Saints – both in dramatic overtime finishes.
Round-robin playoff games began on March 8, with SAERC defeating the Inverness/Baddeck/Wagmatcook Rebels 7-2.
Keiran Madden had a six-point game for the Saints with a pair of goals. Owen Burns also scored twice, with singles from Cael Austen, Duncan Scott, and Liam Taylor.
Rossi MacKinnon and Ryder MacLean replied for the Rebels.
Brooke Wadden was the winner in goal while Sam Watson took the loss.
SAERC went to 2-0 the following night with a 4-3 overtime win over Dalbrae.
Madden scored the winner, his second of the game. Taylor also scored twice and assisted on both of Madden’s goals.
Owen Campbell, Jayden Cameron, and Ethan Gillis replied for the Dragons.
Wadden picked up her second win in a row between the pipes for SAERC while Hayden Gillies was tagged with the loss.
Also on March 9, the battle of the six-name teams saw the CBHA/NDA/Cabot Huskies-Eagles defeat the Inverness/Baddeck/Wagmatcook Rebels 10-1.
Brock Tatum, Landon Morrison, Jace Whitty and Jace Bishop each scored twice, with singles from Brendon Taylor and Connor Vesna. Jayden Aucoin and Malachi Stockley had three assists each.
The Rebels Jace Hillier spoiled Callum Courage’s shutout bid while Luke Morrison suffered the loss in goal.
The Saints completed their three-game streak by defeating the Huskies-Eagles 6-3 on Mar. 11.
The Huskies-Eagles held a 3-2 lead early in the third before the Saints scored four unanswered goals for the win.
Madden was once again the MVP with a five-point game that included a hat trick. Burns scored a brace, including the winner, and Taylor pocketed the single.
Morrison, Bishop and Nolan LeBlanc replied for the Huskies-Eagles.
Wadden was the winner in goal and Courage took the loss.
Richmond advanced to the final by defeating Dalbrae 1-0, the Rebels 8-5, and tying the Huskies-Eagles 2-2.
In the final game of the round-robin, the Dragons edged the Rebels 3-2 on Friday night at the Dr. Bernie MacLean Cultural and Recreation Centre.
After a scoreless first period, Rowen McDaniel pounced on a rebound off a Jack MacIver point shot to score 30 seconds into the second period. Bentley Cameron also picked up a helper on the goal.
Midway through the period, Ethan Gillis picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Rebels goaltender Luke Morrison with a snap shot.
The Rebels responded at 10:14 of the second when the MacKinnon brothers, Brady and Rossi, set up Keltin Campbell in the Dalbrae crease, where he tossed a backhander past goaltender Reid Anstey to put the Rebels on the board.
Eighty-one seconds later and Jace Hillier one-timed a rebound on a point shot by Owen Fraser to give the Rebels a 2-2 tie.
However, the second-period fireworks weren’t over as Dalbrae’s Drew Beaton took a centering pass from Owen Campbell behind the Inverness net and scored what would be the winning goal at 12:24.
There were just two penalties in the entire game, including Dalbrae’s second at 11:25 of the third. The Rebels took a time out and pulled Morrison for an extra attacker at 13:28 but couldn’t beat Anstey for the tying goal.
The Dalbrae boys will now prepare to host the School Sport Nova Scotia Division 2 provincial tournament on March 27-29. The six-team tournament includes the Huskies-Eagles, Eastern Shore, Par-en-Bas, Northeast Kings and Sommet.
The Dalbrae girls will be seeking their fourth straight provincial championship as the Highland Region representative at the four-team Division 2 tournament being hosted by Northeast Kings at Canning on the same weekend. Eastern Shore and Clare are the other two teams.