Prepping for busy December schedule

Avon River Rats sees four-game winning streak snapped

Fans of the Avon River Rats who had their hopes set on watching a continued winning streak were disappointed after the team suffered a stunning loss on Nov. 19.

The River Rats were defeated in an 8- 2 flame out with the Eastern Shore Thunder, who have now defeated the Rats in four of the five games played between the clubs this season. During those games, the Thunder has also outscored the Rats 29- 19.

Nov. 19 was far from ideal for the Rats as they fell behind 5- 0 after 20 minutes and then 7- 0 before Kyle Armsworthy, with only 10 seconds to play in the second period, finally put the River Rats on the board.

Braeden Roach tallied the other Avon marker in the third period.

Head Coach Mike Lapierre removed Carter McMullin from nets after he allowed seven goals on 19 shots and replaced him with newcomer and Windsor native William Earley, the former all- star goaltender with the Avon View Avalanche boys’ high school team. He allowed one goal on 14 shots.

The River Rats struggled both offensively and defensively as they managed to connect for 33 shots on the Thunder net but only get on the board twice.

The Thunder took 27 shots on the Avon net, with eight goals.

Upcoming games

The Avon River Rats have three games remaining with the Thunder for the duration of the 2017- 2018 Nova Scotia Regional Junior Hockey League season. The next game is slated for Dec. 16 in Eastern Shore, followed by home dates on Jan. 26 and Feb. 4.

As for the River Rats’ upcoming schedule, they were scheduled to play in East Hants on Nov. 25 at 2: 30 p. m. before returning home on Nov. 26 for back- to- back home games against the Cumberland- Colchester Colts. They will host them again on Dec. 3 at 7 p. m.

They will also play the Colts in Truro on Dec. 1 and the Spryfield Attack on Dec. 2 in Spryfield.

The River Rats are now in third place in the league standings with a record of 9- 5- 0- 0 for 18 points, four behind second place Eastern Shore who have 22 points and a record of 11- 30- 0 and seven behind the Spryfield Attack who have 25 points and a record of 12- 1- 0- 1.