Next home game is Nov. 3

Leafs considering buying bus after terrible road trip to Port Hawkesbury

The Valley Maple Leafs Executive were fuming after arriving in Port Hawkesbury for their game Oct. 12 against the Strait Pirates.

The Leafs had to deal with a seven-hour bus trip, travelling at 40 km/h and only arrived at the rink as the Strait Pirates were concluding their pre-game warm-up.

“There is no way you can expect a team to be ready and play a consistent game of hockey after a bus trip such as the one we experienced,” said team spokesman David Hunter.

“Ideally, we should have a $350,000 motor coach to travel to our road games and that is something we are seriously looking at after the trip we endured.”

As for the game itself, the Leafs trailed 3-0 after the first and 6-1 after two periods with Taylor Brown scoring a power-play goal for the Valley’s only goal of the game 29 seconds into the second period. The Strait Pirates tallied an additional five goals in the third period.

The Strait Pirates outshot the Leafs 48-27.

The Leafs played their home opener on Oct. 19 against the expansion Eskasoni Jr. Eagles.

The Leafs planned a special ceremony for prior to their home opener at the Hants Exhibition Arena. The ceremony was planned as a way for the Leafs to honour two members of the 1963-64 Windsor Maple Leafs senior hockey team: Chook Smith and Frank Barteaux. The Leafs’ organization also saw fit to recognize former Nova Scotia premier Gerald Reagan, who was born and raised in Windsor before politics took him to Halifax and then Ottawa, was a famed promoter of the Windsor sports scene while living in Windsor.

Upcoming games

The Leafs will hit the road for two additional games — one in Sackville on Oct. 22 and on in Antigonish on Oct. 28 before returning back to Windsor for a game on Nov. 3 to entertain the defending Atlantic Canadian Don Johnson Cup winners: the Kameron Jr. Miners. Game time is 7:30 p.m.