Week in Review May 5-11

From the opening faceoff, both teams started fast with Halifax’s Joe Martin and Moncton’s Matt McConnell needing to make some big saves early on. Drew MacDonald took a beauty feed from Alex Fillmore as the Hurricanes scored the game’s first goal. Brett MacNeill would respond for the Mavericks as Moncton fired back in the 2nd and 3rd, relying heavily on the high-scoring trio of Robbie Diamond (2G 3A), Ricky Canning (2G 3A) and Tyler Dobbie (2G 5A) for their offence. MacDonald would go on to record the hattrick, scoring at 1:02 left in the 3rd period as the Hurricanes pulled even with Mavericks for the tie. Final score: 7-7. 

On Sunday, a short-staffed Sackville Wolves battled hard for three periods but came up short against the Mavericks 13-8. Moncton playmakers Ricky Canning (3G 4A) and Rob Diamond (2G 5A) lead the way with 7 points apiece. Cody Marche paced the Wolves with a goal, while tallying 5 assists. Matt McConnell picked up the win in nets for the Mavericks while Wolves goaltender Jacob Bragg played a solid game between the pipes in the loss.

Monday May 7th marked the ECJLL Halifax home-opener as the Northwest Rebels hosted the Southwest Hurricanes at the Spryfield Arena. As expected, the game was a closely played contest that showcased the size, speed and skill of our league. The Hurricanes started fast and lead Northwest 6-2 heading into the 3rd period. While the Rebels would go on to score 3 in the final frame to make it close, Southwest veteranr Andre Laleune would add the insurance marker with 27 seconds left as the Hurricanes would hold on for a 7-5 win. Laleune paced all point-getters with 4 points (2G, 2A) while Northwest was led offensively by Justin Belanger (3G) and Josh Sampson (1G 1A).

Two nights later would see the Northwest Rebels revenge their opening-season loss by trouncing the Sackville Wolves 16-10 at the Spryfield Arena. The Rebels’ offensive explosion was lead by Justin Belanger (3G 5A), Jasper Goodwin (7A), Paddy Quinn (5G 1A) and Josh Sampson (4G 1 A) as Northwest capitalized on 5 powerplay opportunities in the 3rd to put the game out of reach. Cody Marche and Robbie Grant each recorded a hat trick for the Wolves. 

On Thursday May 10th, the Bandits opened their season on a winning-note as they downed the Southwest Hurricanes 11-8 in a rematch of last year’s final. The Bandits were paced from a balanced scoring attack with 12 players scoring at least a point. Veteran Hurricanes’ Louis Martin (4G) would make it a close game by burying two beauty powerplay goals from Drew MacDonald (2G 2A) in the 3rd. Jonathan Boutin picked up the win in goal for the Bandits and Joe Martin recorded the loss for Southwest.

Next week’s must-see matchup

Who? Moncton Mavericks vs. Dartmouth Bandits,

When and Where? Saturday May 12, 6pm @ Bowles Arena

Why? In a battle of two unbeaten teams, Dartmouth looks to ride the momentum of their home-opening win into the Saturday afternoon matinee. It will also be Jersey Day at Bowles Arena and all minor lacrosse players wearing their jersey will be allowed in for free and able to meet the players on the floor before the game. 

ECJLL 3 Stars of the Week, sponsored by Lax Hut

1st Star: Justin Belanger, Northwest Rebels

2nd Star: Andre Laleune, Southwest Hurricanes

3rd Star: Rob Diamond, Moncton Mavericks