By Ryan Lum, Staff Contributor
The Dartmouth Sportsplex hosted placement games Friday, the first between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, traditional rivals in Canada Games competition. Although the enthusiasm wasn’t the same as that of elimination play, speed and grit made for an entertaining 60 minutes.
Things got started with teams trading goals five minutes apart in the first, both scramble-type shovel goals that underlined the “nothin’ pretty” tone of the game.
NB pressure early in the second led to a Noah Zilbert goal with aid from Mitchell Vandelaan, but Nova Scotia’s “2,3,4” line of Tyler Brown, Nathan McKinnon and Cole Murphy, steady producers all tournament, came up with a couple of goals to close the period ahead 3 – 2.
The third opened with another N.S. goal from a Cole Murphy re-direction, and things looked to be in Nova Scotia’s pocket until a New Brunswick goal from defenseman Matthew Murphy made for a tense final 10 minutes.
But Nova Scotia’s Mike Lyle was able to put the nail in the coffin after turning an interception into a beautiful fake, step, shoot play.
Although it’s not quite what they wanted, Nova Scotia aren’t disappointed with today’s win, which proves their regional superiority by placing ahead of all Atlantic provinces. It has not been an easy go for the Bluenosers, who, grouped in pool A with current medal contenders Quebec, Ontario and BC, were at a disadvantage from the start. But each defeat was respectable, and Nova Scotia even forced Quebec into a shootout, where, despite losing, were able to find four goals against Alexandre Belanger, who has the lowest goals against average in the tournament.
After defeating Newfoundland and Labrador handily to make it to the quarter finals, Nova Scotia put up a massive effort against Ontario, losing just 5 – 3 in front of a capacity crowd at the Metro Centre.
Despite finishing in the middle of the pack, Nova Scotia should be proud of its effort. Beyond the advantage (or pressure) of home ice, or the fact that after population and financial resources Nova Scotia sits way behind a team like Ontario or Alberta, the boys came to play and left it out on the ice. One can only hope that next year they get the bounces that they deserve.
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