N.L. team wins opening game at national masters championship

Jeremy Bishop scored four goals and Ray Martin posted the shutout as Colonial Auto Parts, representing Newfoundland and Labrador, won its opening game in the 2018 Canadian masters men’s ball hockey championship Wednesday in Winnipeg.

Jamie Tobin and Rick Traverse also scored for the N. .L. team, while Ryan Delaney and Ryan Simonsen each added three assists.

Colonial Auto Parts, the runner-up in the 2017 national masters men’s championship, has two other games on its preliminary-round schedule, facing the Toronto Capitals in a game late Wednesday and hometown Manitoba True North today.

The masters championship is one of three national events — the Canadian senior men’s and women’s championships are the others — being contested in Winnipeg this week.

Newfoundland doesn’t have an entry in the women’s tournament, but N.L. Black Horse entered the week touted as a contender for the senior men’s crown, having finished third last year despite losing just one game — to the eventual champion Edmonton Savages in the semifinals.

However, Black Horse has been in tough in Winnipeg, suffering two losses in its first three games, 4-3 to the Savages and 6-5 in overtime to the Brampton, Ont., Midnight Express. That meant the Newfoundlanders — who had downed Edmonton Top Whale 7-3 in another game — entered their final round-robin contest against the New Tecumseh, Ont., Extreme late Wednesday without the guarantee of a berth in the cross-over playoffs, which start Friday.

A win by Black Horse (the result was unavailable at The Telegram’s press deadline) or a loss by Brampton to the Savages in their final round-robin game today would put the N.L. team in the playoffs.