Fours of nature
A four-goal performance by Bearcats’s captain Campbell Pickard Friday and an overtime victory Saturday have Truro on an impressive run.
Campbell Pickard had himself a night on Friday — and the Truro Bearcats, quite a weekend.
The 20-year-old captain scored four goals, including two on the power play, as his team skated to a 6-3 victory over the Yarmouth Mariners in Maritime Junior Hockey League action at the RECC.
Saturday, with the Campbellton Tigers in town, the Bearcats made off with a 3-2 overtime win, running their streak to five straight wins and putting them in sole possession of first place in the competitive Eastlink South Division.
Tyler Pyke notched the winner at 4:47 of overtime against the Tigers, after assisting on Truro’s previous two goals.
The Bearcats led 1-0 after the first on a power-play marker by rookie Gavin Hart, from Dylan Burton and Pyke.
The Tigers replied with a powerplay goal of their own early in the second by Tristan Young, before Pickard scored a short-handed Campbellton with just under four minutes to go in the period, from Pyke and Riley Baggs.
Dominic Lavergne scored for Yarmouth at 13:28 of the third to send the teams to the extra frame, where Pyke settled matters on a setup by Baggs and Karter Renouf.
Alec MacDonald got the call in net for the Bearcats and turned aside 19 of 21 shots he faced. At the other end, Greg Maggio was faced with 31 Truro shots.
Bearcats 6 Mariners 3
Friday night’s contest marked the first loss of the season for the Mariners.
Pickard opened the scoring at 6:31 of the first period. Renouf added another at 8:45 for a 2-0 Bearcats lead after one period.
Pickard had the lone goal of the second, and scored the hat trick goal on a power play at 7:30 of the third.
After Chris Gorham got the
Mariners on the board with a shorthanded tally at 10:29 of the final stanza, Pickard sniped his fourth marker less than two minutes later to restore the four-goal cushion.
Noah McMullin, on a powerplay, and Duncan McKie scored less than a minute apart for the Mariners to make it a 5-3 game before Burton iced it with an empty-netter for the Bearcats.
Burton finished with a goal and two assists, while Pyke had three helpers and Hart added two assists.
Bearcats goaltender Kevin Resop was busy and made 33 saves. Leif Hertz of the Mariners faced 29 shots. Attendance was 658.
This week local hockey fans will get their first look at the Edmundston Blizzard, the only undefeated team in the league at five straight wins. After Edmundston plays the Pictou County Weeks Crushers Thursday evening, the Bearcats host the Blizzard for a 7 p.m. game at the RECC.
Saturday the Bearcats travel to Yarmouth for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Mariners.