Host Aces pick up first win
Brett Gaudet scores three times in Tignish’s victory over the Hampton Hurricanes from New Brunswick
TIGNISH — Brett Gaudet scored a hat trick in leading the Perry’s Construction Aces to their first win Thursday night in the Perry’s Construction Maritime Hockey North Junior C Hockey Championship tournament.
The five-team tournament is being played at the Tignish Credit Union Arena.
The Aces defeated New Brunswick’s short-staffed entry, the Hampton Hurricanes, 4-2 to improve their record 0-1-1.
Having tied Nova Scotia 33 earlier Thursday, they go into today’s round-robin games with one point.
Team PEI, Pownal Redmond Enterprises Red Devils, lead the field with two wins.
They won 5-3 over the Hockey North entry, the Kivalliq Canucks, in the day’s second game.
“I’m glad with the result tonight, but I think we can put it up a notch yet,” Aces coach Brian Hogan commented following the game.
“I’m hoping we get better as the tournament goes,” he said, admitting the Aces were not at their best. “I think they’re ready to play now.”
Hogan was sounding optimistic about the host team’s chances.
“From what I’ve seen so far in this tournament, I think any team has potential to win it,” he offered.
Chad Huelin, assistant coach of the Hurricanes, said his team was a victim of the university exam schedule.
“Oh, for sure,” he replied when asked if the short bench was a factor in the outcome of their games. A long day of travel to get to Tignish was also a factor, he acknowledged.
Huelin is sounding optimistic the Hurricanes’ fortunes will improve Friday and Saturday when at least five more players are anticipated in joining the club.
The bench got particularly short in the second after one player was banished for checking from behind and two were sent off for misconducts.
“We had one spare forward, one spare defenceman,” he noted. “I think the boys did exceptionally well, actually.”
Huelin praised his goaltender, Jordon Weir, for keeping the Hurricanes in the contest. “He stood on his head,” he said.
Weir, who was named his team’s player of the game, turned aside 39 shots, including 19 of the 20 the Aces peppered him with in the third.
Gaudet, the Aces’ player of the game, had the only goal of the first period.
Shawn Arsenault
(1,2) rounded out the scoring for the Aces. Other assists went to to Ryan Corcoran (2) and Kirk Ramsay.
The Tignish squad led 3-1 after two periods of play.
The Hurricanes, who picked up three of the game’s five minor penalties plus a game misconduct and two 10-minute misconducts, got goals from Nick O’neil and Adam Kane. Assists from Brendan Roy and Jeff Bergeron.