The Bill Chisholm Memorial Tournament played out like the season so far for the Antigonish ‘AAA’ Peewee Bulldogs – one in which the players underwent continuous improvement as it went on.
The tournament took place from Dec. 7-9, and featured a rivalry between the two mainland teams that played: the Bulldogs and the Yarmouth Mariners.
Head coach Trevor Rogers praised the team for their cohesive performance, as they bounced back from an early round-robin loss against Yarmouth, to take the tournament title in a 10-2 win.
“They got better as they weekend went on, and capped it off with a big win on Sunday,” Rogers said.
The championship game started on a good note, Rogers noted, with two early goals. That early lead was not to last.
“They were feeling pretty good, but it took a turn the other way after that, with Yarmouth tying it up with two quick ones,” Rogers said.
That tie wouldn’t last for long, either, Rodgers noted. The Bulldogs quickly killed off a five-on-three power play, scoring two more goals in the process. That, Rogers said, was the beginning of a momentum that Bulldogs carried on with, for the rest of the game.
“They just kept it up,” Rogers said. “They didn’t stop until the end. It was a big win for us. We regrouped, and were lucky enough to get another chance at them – and made good on the second chance.”
Yarmouth has been a strong team in the league, so the challenge they posed for Antigonish during the Bill Chisholm Memorial came as no surprise to Rogers.
“Yarmouth is having a good year, and we played them four times in league play. We’ve seen a lot of them,” Rogers said. “They were up there in the league standings.”
Scott Fulmore, team manager for the Bulldogs, agreed, noting that going into the tournament, he expected any game against Yarmouth to be a close one.
“They have one or two strong lines that are very offensive, and they can put points on the board pretty quick,” Fulmore said. “We were watching out for that, and knew they were stronger players.”
Aside from their one loss in round robin play against Yarmouth, the Bulldogs clinched a series of tight wins throughout the weekend, against Sydney (4-2), Cape Breton West (5-3) and Strait Richmond (9-0).
The player of the game for the championship was forward Campbell Barrett. Goals were scored by Jack Hayne (3), Riley Sampson (2), Reed Sullivan (3), Jack Hayne (2) and Trent Stewart (1). Assists were provided by Alex MacIsaac (1), Riley Sampson (2), Reed Sullivan (3), Jack Hayne (2) and Trent Stewart (1).
Rogers credited the entire team’s effort in the tournament, noting, “it wasn’t just one person carrying us at any time. It was everyone buying in and playing their heart out.”
Fulmore echoed Rodgers’ thoughts, saying “it was an all-around good team effort. It was a combination of a good defense, good forward and a good goalie working together.”
Results:
Antigonish 4
Sydney 2
Goals: Brady Peddle, Campbell Barrett, Jack Hayne and Riley Sampson
Assists: Riley Sampson, Brody MacLean, Alex MacIsaac, Reed Sullivan, Owen Chisholm
Player of the game: Goalie Ethan Chisholm
Antigonish 5
Cape Breton West 3
Goals: Brody MacLean, Alex MacIsaac, Jack Hayne, Trent Stewart, Owen Chisholm
Assists: Alex MacIsaac, Campbell Barrett, Riley Sampson, Brody MacLean
Player of the game: Forward Jack Hayne
Antigonish 2
Yarmouth 5
Goals: Riley Sampson, Jack Hayne
Assists: Reed Sullivan, Cohen Pictou, Brady Peddle
Player of the game: Aidan Fulmore
Antigonish 9
Strait Richmond 0
Goals: Riley Sampson, Jack Hayne, Trent Stewart, Owen Bell, Brady Peddle, Reed Sullivan
Assists: Reed Sullivan, Jack Hayne, Riley Sampson, Cohen Pictou, Brady Peddle, Trent Stewart, Jesse Partridge
Player of the game: Ryah Stewart
