What a win!
Pictou County team posts undefeated record to capture memorial title
The Bantam AA Crushers will proudly hang the Memorial Tournament banner in their rink.
WESTVILLE ROAD, N.S. — For the Pictou County Bantam AA Crushers, it’s one for the memory books. Seth Gallant would score the only game of the championship game as the Crushers claimed a gold medal over the Dartmouth Whalers at the annual Bantam Memorial Tournament. Gallant pounced on a loose puck in the very early stages of the first period and powered in a snapshot, top-shelf. From there, the two teams engaged in a back-and-forth contest, with each getting 25 shots on goal. Crushers goaltender Evan Ramsey earned the shutout. The Crushers had gone 3-0 in the round-robin and defeated a team from New Brunswick in a crossover game. The Bantam Memorial Tournament has been played every year since 1985 and is in memory of Pictou County bantam rep team players Donald Gladwin, John Allan MacDonald and Shawn McKay, along with a mother (Lee Marie McKay), who all died in February of 1984 as the team was driving home from a tournament in New Brunswick. The tournament has been on the minds of the Bantam AA Crushers since the season started, and maybe even before that. “We talked about it all the time (and) it’s pretty special, to be honest,” said coach Victor Melanson. “We weren’t looking to win a championship. Everyone hopes to, but we really focused on the reason we’re playing this tournament – to carry on their memory and play with heart. To be able to take that banner and put in back in our rink, that’s pretty special to us.” The Bantam A Crushers took silver in their division.