Competing with the best
The Holland College Hurricanes soccer teams finish their pre-season schedule this weekend.
The men’s squad will visit the UPEI Panthers on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the women hosting the University of Maine-Fort Kent Bengals on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall.
The Hurricanes are preparing for the beginning of their Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) regular seasons, which begin at home on Saturday, Sept. 8, when they host the Dal AC Rams at 2 p.m. (women) and 4 p.m. (men) in Cornwall.
“The first few days of camp have gone very well,” said women’s head coach Kris McKinnon. “With a large number of new players, we have had great competition for roster spots thus far. We are happy with the quality of play. We have some difficult decisions to make between now and the start of the regular season.”
The women’s Hurricanes are motivated to have a bounce-back season in 2018 after missing the playoffs last year for only the second time in team history. They completed the regular season with a record of 4-5-3.
The men’s Hurricanes are coming off a 1-0 exhibition loss to the University of Moncton Aigles Bleu on Wednesday in Moncton.
“We have a lot of new faces in the lineup this season and it’s going to be very competitive for roster spots,” said head coach Jonathan Vos. “We were pleased with our first exhibition game and look forward to seeing more on Saturday night versus UPEI.”
The men’s Hurricanes won bronze at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship and are the fourtime defending ACAA champions.
The Hurricanes are hosting the CCAA men’s soccer championship at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall from Nov. 6-10.
The Vincent-Lambe-Garnier Racing Team is Ontario-bound for one of the most talked about short-track events of the year.
The inaugural Canadian shorttrack nationals will take place at the .625-mile Jukasa Motor Speedway in Hagersville, Ont. It will be Canada’s biggest and richest asphalt oval race in history with $200,000 in prize money, including $50,000 going to the winner.
The Red Island Regatta made a triumphant return to the Brudenell River on Saturday and rowers from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia say they can’t wait to come back in 2019.
The Red Island Regatta featured 1,000-metre sprint races in the morning in front of the Rodd Brudenell resort.
In the afternoon, the rowers switched to coastal boats to compete on a 2.3-kilometre course, starting in the water near Brudenell Island.
More than 60 competitors took part from St. FX, Fredericton
Two-time IWK 250 winner and the Maritime Pro Stock Tour’s Kent Vincent of Westmoreland will pilot his No. 8 Dodge on Sunday.
Vincent and his Prince Edward Island-based team will be one of 64 cars jockeying to qualify for the 40-car field.
“This is a big deal for our team to compete against the best in North America,” said Vincent. “We are a small team on a tight Rowing Club, North Star Rowing Club and Rowing P.E.I.
Shannon MacAulay of Mount Herbert got her first chance to compete on P.E.I. in front of family and friends.
She was recruited into rowing budget but feel like we have a good shot at this deal and will try and make Atlantic Canada proud.”
This event has drawn interest from many of the top late model racers in North America. Drivers from the United States, such as last weekend’s Oxford 250 winner Bubba Pollard, Johnny VanDoorn, Kyles Bush’s driver Raphael Lessard and NASCAR legend Sterling Marlin are just a few that will through the RBC Training Ground program and has been training hard with the North Star Rowing Club in Dartmouth, N.S., since May.
MacAulay won both of her events: the women’s coastal single make their way north of the border.
Vincent will have support from his North Carolina car builder, Crooks Racing, at the event, and local support from Wayne’s Auto Mart, P.E.I. Potatoes, HP Glover, Summerside Chrysler Dodge and Tire Tire.ca.
Fans can watch via a pay-perview broadcast on Speed51.com, or follow Vincent’s team on Facebook or Twitter. and the coastal mixed double, along with Will Bryden from North Star.
Regatta organizers had support from two crews from HMCS Queen Charlotte, as well as the Montague Waterfront Development Corporation, HMCS Queen Charlotte and Tranquility Cove Adventures, P.E.I. Parks, local volunteers and the governments of P.E.I. and Canada.
Premiere sponsor, East Coast Docks, installed a low-profile dock designed for rowing at the Brudenell Marina.
Rowing P.E.I. operates from May until October from its home base at the Charlottetown Yacht Club. For more information, visit www.rowingpei.ca.