Bearcat Banter: Score to win

Here’s the bottom line.

Pick a sport, any sport. If you don’t score enough, you don’t win. If you don’t score any, you’re shut out.

That was the story last weekend when the Bearcats lost to Pictou County and the Campbellton Tigers.

In New Glasgow, the much improved Crushers scored a goal each period with no Bearcat response. They were the deserving winners.

Interestingly, they both played the same kind of game but at the end of the day Truro did not spend enough time in the Crushers end.

Saturday, the Bearcats hosted a veteran Campbellton Tiger team. Perhaps, for the first time since Truro re-entered the Maritime Junior Hockey League in 1997, they played without a single twenty year-old skater.

The Tigers struck early and never let up. The Bearcats, while guilty of standing around in the first period, never gave up through the final two periods.

There was no question the Bearcats were outmatched in most areas. The Young roster battled and never abandoned the will to win.

The Bearcats come into the week third in the Eastlink South Division, seven points behind Amherst and nine ahead of the Crushers, with thirteen games remaining. How things shake down the rest of the way is clearly in their hands.

As always, it’s about finding ways to win games. Puck management has been a focus, with consistency a must. Young teams can hiccup by times.

Tonight, the Bearcats travel to Bridgewater for a 7:00 pm start against the South Shore Lumberjacks. That team is a point out of fourth and has been chasing Truro all season.

Truro and South Shore have evenly split the previous four games. There’s plenty at stake in this one, for both.

Saturday, the Lumberjacks are returning the visit, a 7:00 pm start at the RECC.

Those games, along with the one played last night against Amherst, make for another busy Bearcat week.