A good goaltender fixes mistakes, which is what U18 Major Islanders backstop Leo Forance did here with a big save in Saturday’s season-opener, with two Pictou County players in ideal scoring positions.
-by Bill Dunphy
A big win on Saturday and a shootout loss on Sunday got the Cape Breton West Islanders off to a three-point start in their 2026-27 Nova Scotia U18 Major Hockey League season.
The Islanders rallied from down one in the first on Saturday to beat Pictou County Weeks 4-1. On Sunday, they led the Cole Harbour Hunters 4-0 and 5-3 by periods but couldn’t close it out in a 6-5 loss in a shootout.
Both games were played at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre in Port Hood.
Islanders coach Keenan Gillis said he will take the three points but it’s early in the season and they have lots to work on.
“In our first game we were trying to feel Pictou out and everybody trying to put up numbers rather than playing as a team. Against Cole Harbour we had a really good first period, possibly the best period we played all weekend,” Gillis said.
“But in both games we needed to play a full 60 minutes. There were a lot of odd-man rushes. Defensive zone coverage will be our focus in practice, I didn’t like giving up a goal in the last minute against Cole Harbour. We’ll get there, working together, working the full 60 minutes, and getting the full four lines into it.”
On Saturday against Pictou, Islanders goaltender Leo Forance was called on to keep the game close while the team found its legs.
Pictou took advantage of the slow start with a fluky goal midway through the first frame on a faceoff to Forance’s right.
Jack MacInnis got the Islanders on the board at 5:08 of the second period. A pass to the point by Ryan Davidson down low found Linus Braun, who walked the line to the high slot for a shot, tipped by MacInnis past Pictou goalie Jared Sorhaindo.
The 1-1 tie carried into the third, where the Islanders established their forecheck in a dominating 20 minutes.
Davidson scored what would be the winning goal at 4:30, completing a play with rookie forwards Colin Crawford and Asher Sampson.
Veteran leadership continued to show the way with Hunter MacDonald making it 3-1 during a four-on-four, converting a rebound on a point shot by Sawyer Nadasdi off a feed by Lex Watt.
And rookie defenceman Oliver MacMullin scored a shorthanded goal at 10:27 for added insurance, set up by a nice pass from Colby Fleet who had caught up to a clearing shot by Kieran MacDonald.
Pictou had a powerplay and six shots in the final minutes but Forance held the fort for the 4-1 win, making 30 saves in total.
Davidson said scoring the winning goal wasn’t as hard as it was just to get on the ice in the third.
“That was my first shift of the period – I had a lace snap on the bench. Once Dan (trainer MacDonald) got the skate laced again, coach said “You’re up” and 10 seconds in Crawford threw me the puck and from then on it was history,” he said.
“We have a lot of leaders in the room and the first-years were rolling. We took some stupid penalties in the first so we had to wake up in the second. It all started with Leo (Forance) keeping us in it.”
The returning players made their presence known in Sunday’s game against Cole Harbour.
Fleet opened the scoring at 9:24 of the first on a play with Will Chisholm and Davidson.
Veteran d-man Jonah Ellis made it 2-0 on a feed from Kieran MacDonald at 13:31 and Fleet scored again 18 seconds later, with Chisholm and Sampson getting the helpers.
Jake MacInnis closed out the 4-0 period with a goal at 16:42, assisted by Crawford and Kieran MacDonald.
The 60-minute factor came into play in the second frame when the Hunters scored three goals in the first 10 minutes to draw within a goal.
But with 17 seconds left to play in the period, Will Chisholm put the Islanders up 5-3 with Fleet and Davidson picking up the assists.
The third period didn’t go quite as planned for the Islanders.
The game turned chippy early on and Cole Harbour drew within one again with a goal at 8:31.
At 14:35 Davidson drew a checking from behind minor and tempers flared with all five players from both team who were on the ice getting the gate with 10-minute misconducts. Gone for the Islanders were Davidson, Jack MacInnis, Andrew Jones, and defencemen Braun and Ellis.
And as luck would have it, the Hunters tied the game 5-5 with 26 seconds left in regulation time. Hugh Burchill, who faced 36 shots in the Islanders goal, held the team in through the overtime period but Cole Harbour got the extra point in the shootout.
The Islanders take to the road this weekend for two games against the South Shore Mustangs at the Lunenburg County Wellness Centre.
The following weekend, Sept. 25-27, they are in New Glasgow for an Early Bird tournament. The Islanders play South Shore on Friday at 11 a.m. On Saturday they take on the Fredericton Caps at 9 a.m. and the Kensington Wild at 5:30 p.m.
The next home games for Cape Breton West are Oct. 3 and 4 when they host the Halifax Macs on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the Mustangs on Sunday at 1 p.m., both at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre.