Bearcats recognized by CJHL
Truro receives honourable mention in rankings
The recent success of the Truro Bearcats hasn’t gone unnoticed.
The Bearcats, winners of five straight Maritime Junior Hockey League games, have received honourable mention in the latest Canadian Junor Hockey League weekly rankings.
“It’s a credit to the players,” said Bearcats coach Shawn Evans. “Their game’s improving as a group and my job is to hope it continues. We don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but I see a big difference in attitude and in play from the start of the year.”
Led by captain Kyle Tibbo, who has a league-high 30 goals and is tied for the league lead in points (56), the Bearcats have been a dominant force since coming off the Christmas break, outscoring the opposition by a combined 23-7 margin in their last four games.
The Bearcats, recognized by the CJHL for the first time this season, posted wins last weekend over the Yarmouth Mariners and Valley Wildcats to tighten up the race for top spot in the Eastlink South Division.
“I see the shots against has gone down, I see the penalty kill percentage has gone up; I just see a better overall game from the 20 guys that play every night,” Evans said.
Truro (21-9-1-1) is tied with Yarmouth for second overall with 44 points. They trail the league-leading Pictou County Crushers by just four points.
The Bearcats travel to Summerside Thursday to face the Western Capitals for a 7 p.m. start. They return home Saturday to meet the South Shore Lumberjacks for a 7 p.m. puck drop at the RECC.
Pictou County is the lone MHL team ranked among the top 20 in the country, checking in at No. 16.
The Georgetown Raiders (OJHL) are the top-ranked team, followed by Brooks Bandits (AJHL), Collège Français de Longueuil (LHJQ), Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL) and Steinbach Pistons (MJHL).
The CJHL rankings are based upon a variety of factors, including the league in which the team plays, winning percentage, win-loss record, total points accumulated, goals-for versus goals-against ratio, etc.