Scotians ready to resume chase for junior B league supremacy
Team hosts games in Trenton the next two Sunday evenings
TRENTON - The Pictou County Scotians will have their sights set on a strong finish to the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey (NSJHL) League regular season when they resume play this weekend.
The Scotians' first game back after the long COVIDinduced break will be in Membertou Saturday night versus the Junior Miners. The following night (Feb. 20), they’ll be at home taking on the Eskasoni Eagles. Puck drop at the Trenton rink is 6:30 p.m.
The Scotians have played the least number of games of any NSJHL team so far this season at 12. The season will end with the discrepancy still, likely, in place, as the league decided, with its tight deadline to conclude the season by Feb. 28, teams will not finish the regular season with the same number of games played.
With that the case, seeding for the playoffs will be based on winning percentage. The method, decided upon during a league meeting Feb. 10, provides the Scotians a great opportunity to earn second place in the division and avoid the first round, best-of-five series between the third and sixth place teams, and the four and five seeds, in each division.
The Antigonish Bulldogs are a lock for the first seed in the Sid Rowe division with a 15-1-1 record but the Miners (7-5-1-1), Strait Pirates (7-61), and Scotians (8-4) all have a shot at second place with the Eagles (6-9) an outside shot and the Cumberland Blues (4-11-1) the likely sixth-place finisher.
The Scotians will be looking to veteran forward Connor Aucoin to continue to put up points for their success.
“The biggest thing for us, and it has hurt us at times, is our starts,” Aucoin said.
“We haven’t brought that every game so, for us, we have to play a full 60 minutes. I know the games we’ve lost we could have won, but we took five or 10 minutes off, that kind of thing. Playing as a team for a full 60 will get us deep into the playoffs.”
In only 12 games, the St. F.X. student from Timberlea has recorded 26 points on a balanced 13 goals and 13 assists. He said he went into this season with a lot of confidence and familiar teammates.
“And I have found the puck has been, kind of, following me, which has been helping a lot,” he said. “I’m just trying to find open spaces when I don’t have the puck; getting into places where my teammates can find me.
“But I’m, usually, a pass-first guy, so I’m always looking for others on the ice, my linemates. We have a great group and, honestly, I’m just really enjoying it. Having a lot of fun with hockey is important (for success) too.”
Aucoin said playing four years of junior B hockey was a goal when he came to St. F.X. four years ago. He said hockey can provide that positive diversion from schoolwork.
“It has been an awesome experience,” Aucoin, who spent his first year in the league with the Bulldogs, said. “Just meeting and competing with the guys … I have absolutely loved it.”
In his second year with the Scotians, goalie Jack Cameron is feeling the same way.
“Coming to Nova Scotia for school (St. F.X), I wanted to keep playing hockey,” said the Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland resident. “I asked around, talked to some guys who were planning on coming here, so I figured I would come down and try out. I ended up making it and I’m enjoying it here so far.”
Cameron echoed some of Aucoin’s thoughts on what the Scotians have to do to find success for the remainder of the season.
“We have to get all our lines moving, everyone on the same page, and figured out what we want to accomplish to go on a good playoff run,” he said, adding he is confident the team will step up to the challenge.
Displaying an acrobatic, competitive style in net, Cameron said he likes to stay into games by talking to teammates and carving out his place around his crease.
“I’ll stick up for myself out there,” he said with a chuckle.
The Scotians will conclude the season with a three-game weekend from Feb. 25 to 27. Friday evening they’ll be in Port Hawkesbury to face the Pirates, while Saturday they play in Eskasoni. Their final game of the 2021-22 regular season will be at home in Trenton versus the Junior Miners, with the regular 6:30 start time.
For more on the league’s restructured schedule and playoff format, visit nsjhl.ca. For more on the Scotians, visit the same website and link to Pictou County Scotians under ‘teams.’