EAGLES ACTION
See our sports pages to find out if the Screaming Eagles ended their playoff series with Gatineau last night.
The Cape Breton West Islanders have already put together an historic season, but they get a chance to take it to another level at the Atlantic major midget hockey championship in Miramichi, N.B., starting today.
The Islanders became the first Cape Breton team since the Cape Breton Pepsi Colonels in 1990-91 to win a provincial major midget championship. It was also the first banner for the Cape Breton West team, as they swept the Steele Subaru Major Midgets from Dartmouth in the best-of-five championship series.
“We worked hard for this all season and we feel we have a really good shot here,” said Islanders team captain Jacob
Hudson of Antigonish, who scored the overtime winner in the seriesclinching game in Dartmouth, March 24.
“We’re looking to make history. We’re looking to start something up here, get a little buzz, hopefully win some games up here and see what happens.”
The Nova Scotia representatives
will see competition from the Moncton Flyers of New Brunswick, the Kensington Wild of Prince Edward Island, the St. John’s Maple Leafs of Newfoundland and Labrador and the host Miramichi Rivermen. Cape Breton West opens play against the Wild today at 4 p.m. The top two teams following the round-robin meet in the championship on Sunday at noon.
“Overall, we’re very confident going into this weekend,” said Hudson, a 16-year-old centre who was called up to the Moncton Wildcats for 10 games this season. “It’s all the work we’ve done all year and everyone’s up for it.”
Islanders head coach Kyle MacDonald coached a number of players on the team in major bantam with the Novas. The Antigonish-based squad won both a provincial and Atlantic championship in 2014-15.
That roster included the likes of Hudson, forward Fearghus MacDonald, defenceman Ryan MacLellan and goaltender Colten Ellis, a Cape Breton Screaming Eagles draft pick.
“There’s no doubt there’s a lot of talent on the team. If you saw us play, you’d notice that,” said coach MacDonald, in his first season behind the Islanders bench. “But being around the team every day, and seeing the work they put into it and the strong bonds between teammates is great. They’re a mature group of young men and it’s awesome to work with them.”
The winner of the Atlantic championship this weekend will earn a spot at the 2017 Telus Cup, the national major midget championship in Prince George, B.C., April 24-30. The last Cape Breton team to reach that tournament was the Cape Breton Jeans Experts in 1999, when it was known as the Air Canada Cup. The Jeans Experts didn’t win the provincial title that year, but won Atlantics hosted in Dartmouth.