Playing well does not guarantee a win.
That’s the way it was this week. When the dust settled, the team had to settle for a split.
Montreal, QC
5’11”, 194 lbs
20, Goalie
The Bearcats got out of the gate quickly in their home-opener, establishing a wide margin in territorial play over the visiting Valley Wildcats.
That doesn’t always translate in goals scored, especially when the goal posts aren’t friendly, and the opposing goalie is hot.
Valley did display a significant pushback in the final period , firing eleven shots Truro’s way, but it wasn’t enough to turn things around.
Truro’s play was impressive. All lines were quick and tenacious. The back end was equally solid.
Sunday, in Amherst, the Ramblers got on the board early. Truro responded quickly with a pair fifteen seconds apart, but that proved to be all the Bearcats could muster.
Amherst scored three more the rest of the way to claim their first win in three starts. The shot counts were close, with little to separate the teams beyond goals scored.
After one full week of play, five of the six teams in the Eastlink South Division have tasted victory. As expected, the battle has just begun.
This week the Bearcats prepare for their first home double header of the season. Saturday the Pictou County Weeks Crushers are in town, and Sunday the Edmundston Blizzard visit. Both games get underway at 7:00 pm.
Coming into this week, the Crushers have a pair of wins and a pair of losses. Offensively, they returned a solid corps, including their top scorer from last year.
Regardless of who’s in the lineup, this rivalry is always alive and good to go. Some things never change.
The Dieppe Commandos franchise was moved to Edmundston to start the 2017-2018 season. The Blizzard won the MHL Championship that year and have been in the upper echelon in the MHL since.
Fans should anticipate two highly competitive games.
The Boston Pizza Bearcat Player-of-the-Week honours went to twenty-year-old goalie, Yacine Chemrouk. The Montreal native turned aside 20 of 22 Wildcat shots to backstop the Bearcats to their first win of the season. Truro acquired his rights in the off-season from the Lindsay Muskies (OJHL), where he played the last two seasons.