Jackson Gerrow of the Memorial Marauders, right, prepares to make a move on the Sydney Academy Wildcats goaltender during Cape Breton High School Hockey League action last season at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney. Gerrow will be among the returning players to the Marauders lineup this season. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST JEREMY FRASER

Members of the Riverview Ravens celebrate after winning the School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey championship with a 7-4 victory over the Glace Bay Panthers at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday. From left, Ayden Ball, Carter MacDonald, Lucas Phillippo and Ty MacDonald. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser

The Riverview Ravens can once again call themselves the School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey champions.

Riverview defeated the Glace Bay Panthers 7-4 in Game 2 of the best-of-three series in front of an estimated crowd of 400 people at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday.

The Ravens sweep the series 2-0 and advance to the provincial championship next month in Northumberland Region.

It’s Riverview’s second Division 1 hockey championship in the last three years after the Panthers knocked off the Ravens to win the title in 2024. Riverview won the league championship in 2023.

Ty MacDonald and Matthew Burke each scored twice while Owen Buckley, Lucas Phillippo and Rory Mills added single markers for the Ravens.

Kyle Nearing had a pair of goals while Cohen McNeil and Morgan Neville also chipped in with goals for the Panthers.

Riverview’s Kayden Mollons made 22 saves. Glace Bay’s Logan Reddick-McGuire stopped six of nine shots before being replaced by Brandon MacNeil, who turned aside 16 of 20 shots in his 33 minutes of relief.

Kyle Nearing of the Glace Bay Panthers, left, attempts to jam the puck through the left pad of Riverview Ravens goaltender Kayden Mollons during School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey championship action at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday. Riverview won the game 7-4. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser

The Ravens scored three times in just over three minutes in the first period with Buckley, Phillippo and Burke finding the back of the net.

MacDonald added to the lead in the second period with a power play marker before Neville cut the lead to three for the Panthers. MacDonald would again score on the power play to make the score 5-1, but McNeil responded before the end of the middle frame to again pull Glace Bay to three.

Nearing made the score 5-3 early in the third period before Mills fired one past MacNeil. The Panthers continued to press with Nearing notching his second of the game before Burke put the contest out of reach with his second of the contest with 1:31 left in regulation time.

Matthew Burke of the Riverview Ravens, left, gets tripped up by Kolby Leforte of the Glace Bay Panthers during School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey championship action at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday. Riverview won the game 7-4. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser

Riverview’s journey to the championship didn’t come as easy as one may think. The team had to win three series to claim the title.

The Ravens never lost a game in the playoffs, eliminating the Sydney Academy Wildcats in two games in the quarterfinal and the Memorial Marauders in two games in the league semifinal before playing the Panthers.

Glace Bay went directly to the championship series after sweeping the Wildcats in the opening round.

The team went more than two weeks without playing a game following the Red Cup Showcase in early February before hitting the ice on Tuesday for Game 1 of the final series. The Panthers lost that game 5-4 in double overtime in Coxheath.

While Ravens will go directly to the provincial championship, the Panthers season isn’t over yet. The team will play a qualifying game against a club from either the Northumberland or Capital regions with the winner moving on to the provincial tournament.

The date, location and opponent for the Panthers was not confirmed at publication time.

As for playoff player statistics, they weren’t accurately updated at press time.

Glace Bay Panthers captain Kale MacDonald is tied for first place in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League scoring race with Memorial's Sam Gracie with seven goals and 22 points in 11 games. MacDonald will lead the Glace Bay team into the annual Panther Classic tournament this week in Glace Bay. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Photo by Jeremy Fraser /Jeremy Fraser

GLACE BAY, N.S. – Words can’t describe the feeling Kale MacDonald had when the Panther Classic high school hockey tournament ended last December.

MacDonald and his Glace Bay Panthers teammates celebrated as the crowd cheered in the background after the host team claimed the Panther Classic title with a 7-2 victory over the Dalbrae Dragons in an all-Cape Breton championship game at Miners Forum in Glace Bay.

For MacDonald, the victory was the biggest of his hockey career to date.

“It was one of the best weekends of my life,” said the Glace Bay product.

“Winning the Panther Classic is the biggest accomplishment when it comes to playing for the team and winning it in front of everyone, they’re the reason we wear the jersey and practice and work hard, so it was special.”

While MacDonald has already had a taste of victory, the Grade 12 forward and captain of the Panthers would like nothing more than to win it one more time before his high school career comes to an end.

Ready to defend

This week, MacDonald and the Panthers will look to defend their Panther Classic title when they host the 26th edition of the tournament at Miners Forum.

Glace Bay will open the tournament on Thursday when they face the Sydney Academy Wildcats. Puck drop is slated for 8 p.m.

For the majority of the Panthers roster, it will be their first Panther Classic. The team has 12 new players in the lineup this year along with six players who played with the club last season.

MacDonald, who will be playing in his third Panther Classic, said he recalls his first game in the tournament, noting the excitement and nervousness to perform in what’s expected to be a jam-packed crowd come Thursday evening.

“The nerves are always there and there’s nothing wrong with that,” said MacDonald, who was recently accepted into the bachelor of science nursing program at Cape Breton University for next fall.

“It can definitely be pretty nerve-racking at the start, but once you get into it, you’re so focused on the game and you just zone out. It’s such a big moment and opportunity, the nerves are definitely there at the start, but they go away.”

Along with the Panthers and Wildcats, the seven-team, four-day tournament will also feature local representatives in the Memorial Marauders and Riverview Ravens as well as the Avon View Avalanche of Windsor, Halifax West Warriors and the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars (CEC) of Truro.

The Panthers (6-3-1-1) enter the tournament sitting tied for second place in the highly competitive Cape Breton High School Hockey League with Riverview (7-3-0-0). Memorial (8-2-1-0) is in first place and Sydney Academy (0-10-0-0) is in fourth place.

BUYING IN

Panthers head coach Dwayne Doucet said despite the club being on the younger side this season, the team is starting to play the way he wants them to.

“The guys are starting to buy in to how the league plays and how different it is from their previous leagues,” he said. “They’re starting to figure things out and hopefully at the right time.”

Glace Bay has only played twice in the last two weeks. The team is currently on a two-game losing streak with losses to Memorial 2-1 last Sunday and Riverview 6-3 on Nov. 24.

Doucet said in order for the Panthers to have success this weekend, the club will need to play better in their own zone.

“It’s playing better defensively, trying to buy into our own end and getting pucks out of our own end and then creating offence off our defensive play and just continue with the attack that way,” he said. “As long as they buy into our own end and play well defensively, I think we’ll have some success.”

MacDonald will be a key part of any success the Panthers have this weekend. He’s currently tied for first place in the high school league scoring race with seven goals and 22 points in 11 games with Memorial’s Sam Gracie.

“He’ll be extremely important for us,” said Doucet, noting MacDonald’s outstanding leadership.

Memorial Marauders. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST
NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. – The hottest team in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League continued its winning ways on Thursday night.

The Memorial Marauders posted a 9-1 win over the Sydney Academy Wildcats at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney.

Sam Gracie had two goals and an assist, while Brayden MacDonald had two goals and Owen Gracie chipped in with a goal and two assists. Owen Seymour, Charlie MacMillan, Noah Tremblett and Jackson Devoe added single markers for the Marauders.

Brayden Tubrett had the lone goal for the Wildcats.

Memorial’s Brighton Hardy made 15 saves. Sydney Academy’s Mikeda MacEwan stopped 17 of 26 shots.

The Marauders now sit one point behind the first-place Glace Bay Panthers with a game in-hand.

High school hockey resumes on Friday with the Riverview Ravens hosting the Marauders at 8 p.m. at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.

- Jeremy Fraser is the sports reporter for the Cape Breton Post. Follow him on X @CBPost_Jeremy.

Jackson Gerrow of the Memorial Marauders, right, looks to make a move on Sydney Academy Wildcats goaltender Dylan Lesnick during Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament action at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney on Thursday. Gerrow didn’t score on the play. Memorial won the game 7-1. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST

NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. – A slow start to the opening game didn’t hurt the Memorial Marauders at the Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament on Thursday.

Despite trailing 1-0 for the first half of the game, the Marauders responded with four goals in the second period and three in the third frame to defeat the Sydney Academy Wildcats 7-1 at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney.

Sam Gracie, Jackson Gerrow, Charlie MacMillan and Malcolm Hull each had a goal and an assist each while Andrew LeBlanc, Carter Petite and Josh Reashore added single markers for the Marauders.

Anthony Melski had the lone goal for the Wildcats.

Memorial’s Levi Hull made 14 saves. Sydney Academy’s Dylan Lesnick stopped 23 of 30 shots.
Memorial will continue the tournament on Friday when they play the Dartmouth Spartans at 7 p.m. at Emera Centre Northside.

As for Sydney Academy, the team will face the Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals of Antigonish in their second game of the tournament at Friday at 1 p.m. in North Sydney

Sam Gracie of the Memorial Marauders, left, prepares to take a shot on goal as he’s challenged by Colby Morrison of the Sydney Academy Wildcats during Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney on Thursday. Memorial won the game 7-1. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST - Jeremy Fraser

RIVERVIEW RAVEN 9 GLACE BAY PANTHERS 5
 

In other tournament action on Thursday evening, Riverview earned a victory over Glace Bay in a game which saw the local clubs combine for seven goals in the first period.

Riverview led 5-2 after the first period and 7-2 going into the final stanza.

Nick Lawrence and Owen Buckley each had a goal and three assists while Lucas Phillippo had a goal and two assists and Rory Mills and Colby Rudderham each had a goal and an assist for the Ravens.

Ty MacDonald, Ryan Beaton and Matthew Burke also added single markers in the Riverview victory.

Cohen McNeil, Kyle Nearing and Jacob Ellsworth each had a goal and an assist while Logan Smith and Burke Aucoin chipped in with goals for the Panthers.

Riverview’s Kayden Mollons made 17 saves. Glace Bay’s Brandon MacNeil stopped 12 of 21 shots.

The Ravens will play the J.L. IIsley Judges of Halifax on Friday at 3 p.m. while the Panthers will face the Auburn Drive Eagles of Westphal.

- Jeremy Fraser is the sports reporter for the Cape Breton Post. Follow him on X (Twitter) @CBPost_Jeremy.