Here’s hoping the wait is over. At the time of this writing, it was not clear that it was. Hurricane Fiona caused the RECC to lose its ice forcing staff to remove the slush, then start from scratch. So, for the Bearcats, this meant the loss of three home games along with one away game in the midst of the storm.
All that after a great start when they picked up wins in their opening two games. It’s axiomatic the Bearcats are chomping at the bit to get back
at it. Team management has been forced to be creative to keep focus on team building and have the boys ready when they get the “go” sign. Fortunately, the Bearcats picked up ice time last week in East Hants and have scheduled practice this week, again in that facility.
Last Saturday all of the Bearcats were involved in Truro Minor Hockey’s evaluation program. Some players were evaluators, others were on ice assistants. It was all good.
This week, the schedule has the Bearcats slated to meet the Pictou County Weeks Crushers Saturday at the RECC, then they’re off to Amherst to face 5
the Ramblers on Thanksgiving Day (2:00 pm). The Crusher ice situation is very similar to the Bearcats’. Coming into this week, each team has had only two outings. The Crushers opened the season with a close win over the Amherst Ramblers, followed by a loss to Truro in the Bearcat home-opener. Saturday’s match-up could be a dandy.
The Ramblers have been more active with five games under their belts. While the team faced postponement at home, the schedule had them
on the road. Again, the Ramblers return a healthy number of returnees to reactivate the old Bearcat-Rambler rivalry. It should be an interesting
afternoon for all the newcomers.
Bearcat-of-the-week honours went to goalie, Jack Milner. He picked up wins in both Bearcat games, posting an impressive 2.00 GAA. He came
up through the Nova Jr. X-men Major Bantam program before two seasons with the Cape Breton West U-18 Islanders. The 2021 Draft choice by the Bearcats and Halifax Mooseheads was an U-18 First Team All-Star last year. He’s shown he’s a keeper.
Stay tuned.