Crushers see playoff hopes end with loss to Bearcats
The Junior A Crushers saw their playoff hopes officially dashed Tuesday, after a 4-2 loss to the Truro Bearcats.
In a game they needed to win in regulation to stay in the hunt, the Crushers saw themselves trailing 3-0 before a late second-period goal from Jacob Hickey cut it to 3-1. Giancarlo Fiori had a power play goal midway through the final period to get Pictou County closer, but the Bearcats closed out the game with an emptynetter (credited to Truro goalie Kevin Resop after an Alex Bonaparte offensive-zone pass somehow ended up in the Crusher net).
“That (sums up) our season right there,” Crushers coach Doug Doull would say.
The win allowed the Bearcats to sew up the final playoff spot in the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s South Division.
Campbell Pickard, Cameron MacLeod and Alexander MacDonald also had goals for Truro.
The Crushers, who missed the post-season for the first time in team history, are playing for pride now, with five games remaining in the regular season.
“The coach will always be measured in wins and losses,” Doull said, “but for the young men that pass through here, it comes down to the character you demonstrated on the ice, school and more importantly, in the community. I’m anticipating they take that thought into the remaining games.”
Six Crushers will be seeing their junior careers winding down in the next 10 days: captain Michael Dill, Alex Bonaparte, Donovan Rehill, Nick Jessome, Marc Gagnon and goalie Luke Melanson.
“The guys who are 20 years, they’re playing their last year of junior and there’s a lot of pride there. All the guys are on board to play hard the rest of the way.”
Notes
• The Crushers have called up Weeks Major Midgets forward Mason Hawley and goaltender Andrew MacLeod, who was named the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League’s top netminder this season. Both are expected to see playing time. The Major Midgets were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday.
• The Crushers will be back at it Thursday at the Pictou County Wellness Centre, when they entertain the South Shore Lumberjacks, a team just two points behind the second-place Amherst Ramblers in the South Division.
• Michael Dill needs six points in his final five games to reach the 200-point mark in his junior career.