SYDNEY, N.S. — The youthful Memorial Marauders learned the hard way that hockey is a three-period game in a 7-1 loss to the Glace Bay Panthers, Sunday.

The Marauders were nine seconds away from taking a 1-0 lead into the third period against the more experienced Panthers in a Cape Breton High School Hockey League match at the Canada Games Complex.

But when Drew Baxter put the Panthers on the scoreboard just before the end of the second period, it was a foreboding of what was to come in the final stanza.

Up to that point, Memorial goalie Gavin Rudderham had made 26 stops to keep the Marauders in the lead following a Dovi Walker goal.

However, Glace Bay’s depth proved too much for the visitors in the third period. Trenton Gove scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals, while Christian Jackson, Brandon Boutilier, Colin Rosta and Baxter, with his second of the game, rounded out the scoring for the Panthers. Cameron Yates contributed four assists, while Brett Strong chipped in with three helpers.

Cody Smith stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced to record the win, while Rudderham, who was replaced late in the game by Spencer Shebib, was tagged with the loss. Glace Bay fired 41 shots on the Memorial net.

The win gives the Panthers a 7-1-2-0-1 record for 24 points, three more than the Riverview Redmen (6-1-2-0-1). Memorial is last in the three-team loop with one win in 11 games.

The league takes a break as the players prepare for the upcoming Glace Bay-hosted Panther Classic tournament that begins Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Canada Games Complex when Hants East takes on Riverview. The host Panthers will once again play the rival Marauders at 8 p.m.

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