A list of boys’ tournaments being hosted by Valley High School Hockey League teams.

The Valley High School Hockey League is winding things down for the season on the boys' side of the league.

After years of not being able to hold one due to COVID restrictions, a league banquet is planned for this year, where team and league awards will be handed out.

The banquet will be held Wednesday, May 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the Berwick Lion’s Hall located inside the Berwick arena. The dinner cost is $20 per person. Teams have been in the process of confirming their number of attendees. The deadline to confirm those numbers with the league is April 22.

The boys’ league end-of-year meeting for team staffs is planned for Sunday, April 24 at 2 p.m. upstairs at the Kingston arena.

Congratulations to Valley High School Hockey League Division I and II Girls teams that advanced to Provincials, April 1- 3. The Avon View Avalanche represented us at Division I Provincials in the Brooklyn Arena and Bridgetown, Middleton, and Yarmouth advanced to the Division II Provincials in the East Hants Sportsplex. The Bridgetown Hawks earned Provincial silver medals after edging Yarmouth 5-4 in one of the semifinal games.

Bridgetown earned a hard fought 1-0 victory over the Avon View Avalanche in the Girls Division League Championship game in the Brooklyn Arena on Monday, April 11^th. The winning goal was scored with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime. We hear that both goalies played exceptionally well. Congratulations to our League Champion Bridgetown Hawks!

Game recaps from boys league March 25-27 weekend. Game recaps are the responsibility of the home team.

Avon View 6 – Park View 1

For the first time in 10 years, the Avon View Avalanche captured the Western Zone Division 1 High School Boys Hockey Championship at home before a sold-out West Hants Community Sportsplex Saturday night by beating the Park View Panthers and, in the process, eliminating the Panthers from advancing to the 2022 Provincials being hosted by Avon View March 31-April 3. 

The Avalanche took the best-of-three Western Series 2-1, but this game was remarkably different than the opening two games of the series in which Park View won the opener in a shoot-out and Avon View the second game 4-3.

In the first period of Saturday’s game, Camdyn Burgess was almost in on a break-away but was hauled down with only 43 seconds having been played.  The referees ruled no penalty shot but put Avon View on the power-play.  At the beginning of the power-play, Auston Hood coughed the puck up at the Park View blue line and it almost cost the Avalanche, but seconds later as he started from his own blue-line, Carter Hood made an unbelievable rush around three Park View defenders who couldn’t touch him and following Hood’s shot, Captain Camyn Burgess jumped on the rebound for a 1-0 Avalanche lead. 

At the 8:30 mark of the opening period, Magnus Giswold streaked down the right side for the Avalanche and let a bullet shot rip and it was 2-0 Avalanche.  Park View knew it had to turn around the game quickly if they had any chance of going to the provincials.  Ryan Jensen let a bullet shot go from 20 feet out but Jaden Croft made a nice glow save and the game stayed 2-0.  Carlos White had the puck close in, but missed for Park View and Brayden Hood then followed up with bullet drive from the blue line but Panther goaltender Owen Lockwood was alert and made a nice glove save. 

The first period ended 2-0 Avalanche with the home team outshooting the visitors 10-7.

In the second period, Camden Burgess, Gavin Sheehy and Brodie Richard teamed up on a fantastic passing play but Lockwood made an incredible save on Richard.  Griswold then missed another great chance before Park View picked up a little steam and force Croft to make 3 spectacular saves in a row including the best one on the Panthers’ Ethan Corkum.  Sheehy and Burgess then streaked in 2-on-1 but Sheehy shot wide.  Sheehy did not miss the second time as he and Burgess went in on a dynamite 2-on-1 and Sheehy scored to make it 3-0. 

Sheehy, Burgess, Carter Hood and Brodie Richard all played a superb game for the Avalanche leaving nothing to question.  Sheehy’s goal came with 4:02 left in the second.  The Panthers finally got on the scoreboard when Nathan Lambourne and Sam Tanner went down 2-on-1 and Lambourne let a low shot go to put the Panthers on the board.  Burgess had another excellent scoring opportunity before the second period ended.  With 1:30 to play in the middle period, Eric Griswold intercepted a clearing pass and scored by drilling a shot just inside the Parkview blue line to make it 4-1 Avalanche after forty minutes.  Avon View held an 11-4 shot advantage in the second and 21-11 after two periods.

In the third period, Gavin Sheehy netted his second of the game on a play with Burgess and Carter Hood with Sheehy scoring on the rebound to make it 5-1 Avalanche.  Penalties and needless ones at that, dramatically picked up in the final 7 minutes, as the game became really chippy with no obvious reason.  Avon View’s final goal came from Carter Hood who went down the left side and let a screaming shot go behind Lockwood to make the final 6-1.

The Provincial Championship schedule is expected to be released Tuesday, March 29 but the tournament will open Thursday, March 31 with 2 games at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the West Hants Community Sportsplex.

Here are some game recaps for the boys league during the March 18-20 weekend. A reminder, it is the responsibility of the home team to send in game recaps. 

FRIDAY, MARCH 18

Clare 3 – Par-en-Bas 2 (Shootout)

The two CSAP rivals – Clare and PEB – faced off in Church Point as Clare hosted Par-en-Bas on Friday evening in Game 1 of a best-of-3 Game highly anticipated playoff series and both fan bases were not disappointed. Les Loups took a 1-0 lead when Miguel deJesus hit the twine at 9:11 to give Clare the first lead of the game after 1 period of play.

The second period saw Par-en-Bas tie up the game at 4:07 as Carson d'Eon scored on the powerplay. The Sharks took their first lead of the game not long after as Blake Newell added PEB's 2nd PP goal of the period. Sharks headed into the 3rd period with a 2-1 lead.

The third period saw both teams battle it out until Alex Theriault tied up the game on the power play for les Loups at the 6:30 mark. The rest of regulation solved nothing, and both teams endured two overtime periods with the action going back and forth.

First, an OT period consisting of 4-on-4 hockey for 5 minutes, then a 2nd OT of 3-on-3 for 5 minutes, until finally the game headed into a 3-player per team shootout. Miguel deJesus scored as the first shooter for Clare on Miguel Surette, who then stopped Ryan Trimper and Logan Comeau. Dominic Cottreau stopped all three shooters for PEB that featured Blake Newell, Spencer Surette and Chandler LeBlanc. 

Scorers for PEB: Carson d'Eon 1G, Blake Newell 1G, Chandler LeBlanc 1A, Spencer Surette 1A, Alyre Richardson 1A.

Scorers for Clare: Miguel deJesus 2G, Jakeb Belliveau 2A,  Alex Theriault 1G, Ryan Trimper 1A, Luca LeBlanc 1A .

Game 2 went Saturday at the Yarmouth Mariners Centre. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 19

Park View 3 – Avon View 2 (Shootout)

For the second time in two weeks the Avon View Avalanche and Park View Panthers staged a classic, the only difference this time is that the Panthers won in a shoot-out instead of the Avalanche. 

The game, following an Avalanche win two weeks ago in Bridgewater, was part of the double round-robin series also involving Horton to see which two teams would advance to a best-of-three series for the Western Zone Division I Boys High School Hockey Championship. As well, a Park View series win will put them in the provincials in Windsor March 31-April 3.

On Saturday night in Windsor at the West Hants Community Sportsplex, the Panthers handed the Avalanche only their third loss of the season and brought them to within a single game of earning a berth in the provincials as they won 3-2 in a shoot-out.

The game played before more than 300 cheering students, parents and grandparents saw a number of exciting plays. The first was when Sam Tanner stole the puck from an Avalanche defender directly in front of the Avalanche net, but his shot was directly on Jaden Croft in the Avon View nets. Croft then made three spectacular saves as the Panthers were all over the Avalanche net.  Park View finally scored to go in front 1-0 when Landon Morash scored on a rebound directly in front of the Avalanche net.  Avalanche Captain Camdyn Burgess then had a glorious scoring opportunity as he broke through the Panther defence but ended up going into the net instead of the puck as he tried to score on Panther net minder Owen Lockwood.

Nathan Culbert who played a strong game for the Panthers all evening took a pass from Liam Sylvester who made a strong rush down the ice before getting the puck over to Culbert and putting Park View in front 2-0 at the end of the first period.  The Avalanche came close twice in the closing seconds of the first but Lockwood foiled them both times.  The Avalanche outshot the Panthers 9-8 in the first period.

In the second period, the Avalanche played the opening 1:26 short-handed and also took a few needless penalties and it almost cost them another goal before Croft made another great save on Culbert. The game began to shift on the highlight reel goal of the night when Carter Hood started with the puck in the Avon View end and rushed the entire length of the ice going through four Park View defenders to beat Lockwood high on his left side with 2:40 left in the second period to bring the Avlanche back to within a goal. Avon View outshot the Panthers 8-4 in the middle period.

In the third period, the Avalanche’s Gavin Sheehy was stopped point blank in front of the Panther net just two minutes into the third period.  With 11:35 to play in the third and the Avalanche on the power-play, Brayden Hood picked up a rebound and poked it home to knot the game at 2-2.  Park View then took another penalty and it almost cost them as Jaiden Wells just missed by an inch or two as the puck rolled almost inside the post on Lockwood but it somehow stayed out.  With 4:30 to play after the Avalanche had dominated the majority of the third holding a 10-1 shot advantage at one stage, the Panthers crawled back and forced Croft to make two huge saves.  The Avalanche outshot the Panthers 12-7 in the third for a three-period advantageous of 29-19.

In the five minute, four-on-four, Croft made a save on Tanner of the Panthers who had a great chance but rifled his shot directly on Croft.  Brodie Richard showing good heads-up play from the blue-line went in Lockwood but he also shot directly at the Pair View goaltender and was denied.  Avon View ended up outshooting the Panthers 3-2 in overtime for a 32-21 game advantage. 

All that was left was the shoot-out and it was a tense affair as Croft and Lockwood duelled it out.  Each team took five shots and the two goaltenders were able to stop the first nine until Ryan Jensen on Park View’s 5th attempt put it between the legs of Croft for a 3-2 Park View win.  Prior to Jensen, Jack Barry, Ethan Corkum, Dylan Demone who was stopped on a great pad save by Croft and Sam Tanner all failed to score.  For the Avalanche, Gavin Sheehy who went to deke Lockwood before seeing the puck roll off his stick, Brayden Jodrey, Camdyn Burgess, Carter Hood and Brodie Richard all failed to score for the Avalanche. 

Game 2 in this series goes back to Bridgewater Thursday night.  A win by the Panthers will put them in the provincials, a loss will force game 3 back in Windsor Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Par-en-Bas 7 – Clare 3

Game 2 between these CSAP rivals took place at Mariners Centre. Game 1 between the two teams had been close and exciting for the fans and both teams started where they left off. Blake Newell started the scoring finishing a 2 vs 1 play with Spencer Surette. The loups scored with 5:31 left in the 1st with a goal by Logan Comeau.

The sharks came out of the gate flying in the second not wanting this game to be their last. Spencer Surette scored a hat trick in the 2nd period to put the Sharks ahead. Riley Hubbard and Chandler LeBlanc each scored singles in the period as well.

The Loups, who never give up, scored at 10:45 in the second with a breakaway goal from Miguel deJesus.

The teams split the 3rd with a goal each.  The École Secondaire de Par-en-bas Sharks won Game 2 by a score of 7-3 to even the best of 3 series at 1 each. Game 3 took place at Université Sainte-Anne on Sunday, March 20.

Scoring for Clare: Logan Comeau (1G, 1A), Miguel deJesus (1G), Chad Reddick (2A), Chase Comeau (1G)

Scoring for PEB- Spencer Surette (3G, 2A), Blake Newell (1G 4A), Riley Hubbard ( 2G), Chander LeBlanc (1G) and Seamus d’Entremont (1A)

SUNDAY, MARCH 20

CLARE 2 – Par-en-Bas 1

South Division Semi-Final 

Clare wins Best of 3 Game Series two games to one

Game 3: After Par-en-Bas won Game 2 convincingly on Saturday night at the Mariners Centre 7-3 tying the best-of-3 game series at 1-1 and avoiding playoff elimination, both teams had a date set for Sunday afternoon in Church Point at 3 p.m. with one team moving onto the Division 2 Regionals vs the NKEC Titans and the other team playing their last game of the season. 

Fans from both communities were treated to a tight checking affair that saw many saves highlighting both teams’ goaltenders – for Clare Dominic Cottreau and for PEB Miguel Surette. Les Loups were the 1st team to hit the scoreboard when Luca LeBlanc beat the Sharks tender at 8:26. Clare took a 1-0 lead after 1 period of play. 

The second period saw some more high energy and back-and-forth fast paced action with many great chances, until Clare's captain Nema Hanna was sprung on a breakaway and scored, doubling the Loups lead at the 7:00 mark. After 2 periods of play, Clare held onto a 2-0 lead. 

The third period saw both teams battle it out until Par-en-Bas pulled the goaltender and had a PP chance late in the game, making it a 6 to 4 skater advantage for PEB. With 1:40 left in the game, Chandler LeBlanc riffled a point shot that solved Dominic Cottreau to cut the lead down to 2-1. Clare held on for the rest of regulation and won the game 2-1. A great series played by both teams who represented their CSAP schools and hometowns with passion and pride. 

Scorers for PEB: Chandler LeBlanc 1G (unassisted).

Scorers for Clare: Luca LeBlanc 1G (unassisted) & Nema Hanna 1G (unassisted). 

The Clare Loups now move on to Division 2 Regionals vs NKEC Titans. 

WEEKEND SCORES

NKEC 6 – West Kings 1 (NKEC advances for regionals)

Clare 3 – Par-en-Bas 2 (SO)

Par-en-Bas 7 – Clare 3

Park View  – Avon View 2 (SO)

Clare 2 – Par-en-Bas 1 (Clare advances for regionals)

Results from the March 11-13 weekend in the boys league. Game recaps are sent in by the home team and are posted when received, coupled with the availability of the webmaster.

Sunday, March 13

Avon View 3 – Horton 0

The Horton High Griffins have been denied an opportunity to play in the Provincial Division I High School Hockey Championship in Windsor March 31-April 3 after they were shutout by the Avon View Avalanche 3-0 in Windsor Sunday night. 

The game completed a double round-robin series between the Griffins, Avalanche and Park View Panthers, which saw the Avalanche finish 4-0-0, Park View at 1-1-2 and Horton at 1-3-0.  The Avalanche and Panthers will now play a Best-of-Three Series beginning Saturday, March 19 in Windsor at the Hants West Community Sportsplex at 7 p.m.  The Panthers must win this series in order to advance to the provincials, if they don’t, the Avalanche with their 29-2-0 record, as host, will be the only Division 1 Valley team at provincials. 

In the Sunday, March 13, 3-0 win – the Avalanche’s 29th win of the season ­– Nathan MacAusland played a superb game, up and down the ice all evening long and his hard work resulted in him scoring the 2nd goal of the contest in the second period on a nice 3-way passing play between him and Terran Baillie and Brayden Hood.  Captain Camdyn Burgess scored the opener for the Avalanche as he went in alone five minutes into the opening period.  Brendan Verge could have had the first goal for Avon View but he rang a shot off the goal post prior to Burgess’s clear break to make it 1-0.  With 7:30 left in regulation, Auston Hood finished the game’s scoring on a bang-bang play in front of the net.  Jaden Croft recorded the shut-out for the Avalanche who out-shot Horton 25-11 over the three periods.

WEEKEND SCORES

NKEC 8 – Forest Heights 2

Forest Heights 4 – Middleton 3

Horton 3 – Park View 2

Avon View 5 – Park View 4

West Kings 7 – Forest Heights 4

Middleton 3 – West Kings 2 (OT)

Avon View 3 – Horton 0

NKEC 9 – Forest Heights 3