Peewee AAA Crushers to host Atlantics next spring

There are less than five months between now and when the Pictou County AAA Peewee Crushers host Atlantics, and the work has already begun.

“There’s a lot of things that are already underway – booking hotel rooms and that sort of thing,” says head coach Jeff Green, whose team was chosen earlier this month to be tournament hosts.

“Our parents are just getting geared up. It’ll bring quite bit a lot of money into Pictou County.”

In prior years, the peewee AAA Atlantic tournament has had a major sponsor; that isn’t the case this season, so a group of tournament committee members

are trying to raise sponsorship money to help offset costs.

As tournament host, the local organization is responsible for ice-time rentals, on-ice officials and a tournament banquet, and will try to make up those expenditures through sponsors.

There are three AAA peewee leagues in Nova Scotia; Pictou County plays in the Mainland league, while there are also leagues in Halifax Regional Municipality and Cape Breton.

The top two teams from each league (plus a tournament host) will play at provincials in the battle to get to Atlantics; the Crushers are already in as tournament host.

On the ice, the Crushers have a 4-2-1 mark in Mainland league play and have been competitive at two big tournaments in which they’ve competed; the Buster Harvey Memorial in New Brunswick, and the Jordan Boyd Memorial tournament that was held in Bedford earlier in the fall.

“I would say that, provincially, we’re in with the top five teams,” Green said. “We feel we’re right there with anybody in the Atlantic provinces – depending on the day, depending on the way the kids play – so we think well have a chance to compete at that level.”