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Bulldogs Remain in the Win Column
2019-11-26
Barron and MacDonald record natural hat tricks in consecutive games.
The AA Munro Junior B Bulldogs entered the third week of November with Head Coach Donnie Grant talking about his team’s consistency over a 60-minute span. “The last few weeks we have came out strong and carried the play for large stretches of the game, but at times, we don’t make the best decisions,” Coach Grant continued, “In this league, the opposition can make you pay often when you are not on top of your game, and that has been the focus of our last number of meetings. With the number of top teams we are facing the next few weeks, I hope the guys put into practice what we have worked on – even at the midway point of the season, we don’t want two points slipping away!”
On Sunday November 17, the Dogs’ arch-rivals the Strait Pirates were in the Pound, with the Pirates looking to avenge the overtime loss in Port Hawkesbury a few weeks earlier. However, it was the Dogs that got the early jump on the Pirates when Captain Andrew Boyle (4th year, Antigonish) blasted a beautiful feed from Zach Forsythe (2nd year, Coldbrook) and Cory MacLellan (2nd year, Antigonish) through the legs of Pirates netminder Cody Smith to take an early 1-0 lead. NSJHL Player of the Month for October Spencer Barron (2nd year, Country Harbour) followed up quickly with a natural hat trick to give the Dogs a 4-0 cushion by the end of the 1st. Assisting Barron were Will Kelly (1st year, Quispamsis NB) with 2, Ryan Kennedy (3rd year, Antigonish), and Connor MacEachern (1st year, Ottawa ON). The Pirates grabbed one back at the beginning of the second before the Dogs Keegan Gauthier (2nd year, Bedford) restored the 4-goal cushion with some great work on the power play. The Pirates closed the gap to 5-2 by the end of the second but Sam Mattie (1st year, Rockland ON) again restored the 4-goal lead when he converted on a beautiful pass from Sam Legere (1st year, Halifax) and Fearghus MacDonald (2nd year, Antigonish). Scott Chiasson (1st year, Antigonish) blasted a point feed from Gauthier and Forsythe and Ryan Kennedy provided an unassisted marker to finish the scoring for the Dogs. Jared Green (3rd year, Antigonish) was solid in the pipes in grabbing his 3rd win of the Year for the Dogs!
The next Friday, the Dogs made the trip to Membertou for a match against the Kameron Junior Miners. The Dogs were obviously not quite with it for the first 12 minutes of the game as the Miners outshot the Dogs 14-0 in that span but could only mange to get one past Cody MacEachern (1st year, Ottawa ON). The next 8 minutes were a different story as the Dogs outshot the Miners 12-4 and grabbed two goals from Keegan Gauthier and Jake MacDonald (2nd year, Sydney) with Forsythe and Kelly assisting on the Gauthier PP marker, and Kelly and Sam Legere adding the helpers on the MacDonald goal. The Miners tied the game early in the second, but the Dogs really controlled the tempo of the second outshooting the Miners buy a count of 19-3. Assistant Captain Fearghus MacDonald’s (2nd year, Antigonish) restored the Dogs lead when he one-timed a gorgeous saucer pass from Barron and Matt Melanson (1st year, Truro). MacDonald notched his second of the game a few minutes later on a sweet breakout feed from Jacob Nobbe (3rd year, Halifax) and Gauthier. Eight minutes into the third, MacDonald and Nobbe connected again to complete the Dogs second natural hat-trick in as many games for a 5-2 lead. The Miners pressed hard in the remaining 10 minutes but Cody MacEachern (1st year, Ottawa) continued his stellar play in the Dogs cage to net his 8th victory of the season. “To put it mildly, these two victories were some huge points to put up at this point in the season,” said Coach Grant. “It’s a very tight battle in our division and every game is important as we start into the second half of the season. I thought the guys mostly executed well in both games and they showed they could get back on track after the slow start against the Miners, which is great to see. We have a great group of young men here, and the guys are realizing he kind of effort it takes to have success in this league,” Coach Grant offered.
The Dogs next see action this weekend with a home game against the Valley Maple Leafs on Sunday, December 1st. Puck drop at the Pound is 7:30 PM, so make sure to come out and support your AA Munro Junior B Bulldogs!
On Sunday November 17, the Dogs’ arch-rivals the Strait Pirates were in the Pound, with the Pirates looking to avenge the overtime loss in Port Hawkesbury a few weeks earlier. However, it was the Dogs that got the early jump on the Pirates when Captain Andrew Boyle (4th year, Antigonish) blasted a beautiful feed from Zach Forsythe (2nd year, Coldbrook) and Cory MacLellan (2nd year, Antigonish) through the legs of Pirates netminder Cody Smith to take an early 1-0 lead. NSJHL Player of the Month for October Spencer Barron (2nd year, Country Harbour) followed up quickly with a natural hat trick to give the Dogs a 4-0 cushion by the end of the 1st. Assisting Barron were Will Kelly (1st year, Quispamsis NB) with 2, Ryan Kennedy (3rd year, Antigonish), and Connor MacEachern (1st year, Ottawa ON). The Pirates grabbed one back at the beginning of the second before the Dogs Keegan Gauthier (2nd year, Bedford) restored the 4-goal cushion with some great work on the power play. The Pirates closed the gap to 5-2 by the end of the second but Sam Mattie (1st year, Rockland ON) again restored the 4-goal lead when he converted on a beautiful pass from Sam Legere (1st year, Halifax) and Fearghus MacDonald (2nd year, Antigonish). Scott Chiasson (1st year, Antigonish) blasted a point feed from Gauthier and Forsythe and Ryan Kennedy provided an unassisted marker to finish the scoring for the Dogs. Jared Green (3rd year, Antigonish) was solid in the pipes in grabbing his 3rd win of the Year for the Dogs!
The next Friday, the Dogs made the trip to Membertou for a match against the Kameron Junior Miners. The Dogs were obviously not quite with it for the first 12 minutes of the game as the Miners outshot the Dogs 14-0 in that span but could only mange to get one past Cody MacEachern (1st year, Ottawa ON). The next 8 minutes were a different story as the Dogs outshot the Miners 12-4 and grabbed two goals from Keegan Gauthier and Jake MacDonald (2nd year, Sydney) with Forsythe and Kelly assisting on the Gauthier PP marker, and Kelly and Sam Legere adding the helpers on the MacDonald goal. The Miners tied the game early in the second, but the Dogs really controlled the tempo of the second outshooting the Miners buy a count of 19-3. Assistant Captain Fearghus MacDonald’s (2nd year, Antigonish) restored the Dogs lead when he one-timed a gorgeous saucer pass from Barron and Matt Melanson (1st year, Truro). MacDonald notched his second of the game a few minutes later on a sweet breakout feed from Jacob Nobbe (3rd year, Halifax) and Gauthier. Eight minutes into the third, MacDonald and Nobbe connected again to complete the Dogs second natural hat-trick in as many games for a 5-2 lead. The Miners pressed hard in the remaining 10 minutes but Cody MacEachern (1st year, Ottawa) continued his stellar play in the Dogs cage to net his 8th victory of the season. “To put it mildly, these two victories were some huge points to put up at this point in the season,” said Coach Grant. “It’s a very tight battle in our division and every game is important as we start into the second half of the season. I thought the guys mostly executed well in both games and they showed they could get back on track after the slow start against the Miners, which is great to see. We have a great group of young men here, and the guys are realizing he kind of effort it takes to have success in this league,” Coach Grant offered.
The Dogs next see action this weekend with a home game against the Valley Maple Leafs on Sunday, December 1st. Puck drop at the Pound is 7:30 PM, so make sure to come out and support your AA Munro Junior B Bulldogs!
“GO DOGS GO!!!!