The Sydney Academy Wildcats will host the annual Blue and White Contractor Cup at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre this week. The Wildcats open the tournament on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against the Riverview Ravens. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST

SYDNEY, N.S. — The Sydney Academy Wildcats are hopeful a healthy roster can help lead them to a championship title in their home tournament this week in Membertou.  

Sydney Academy will enter the annual Blue and White Contractor Cup with a full roster for the first time since mid-November due to suspensions and illness within the club.  

“We have high expectations for this weekend,” said Wildcats head coach Justin Lund, who took over the position from Sheldon Surette this year.  

“The boys have to come to the rink focused and ready to work hard and that’s pretty much what we’ve seen in our local league, the team that comes ready to work hard for a full 45 minutes is the team that wins.”  

The Wildcats sit in last place in the four-team Cape Breton High School Hockey League with a 4-11-0-0 record and eight points back of Memorial Marauders for third place.  

Unlike the Marauders, Glace Bay Panthers and Riverview Ravens, Sydney Academy didn’t participate in the City of Lakes tournament last weekend in Dartmouth.  

Instead, the team used the week off from game action to focus on practice and to work on things Lund believes will make a difference going into the Blue and White tournament.  

“We’ve had lots of practices here in the last couple of weeks and over Christmas and the boys are flying,” said Lund. “We worked on a lot of our special systems and stuff, so the boys are more than ready to play.”  

Sydney Academy Wildcats captain Keagan Corbett prepares to take a shot on goal during Cape Breton High School Hockey League action at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre earlier this season. Corbett powers the offence from the club's blueline, posting five goals and nine points in 15 games. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST - Jeremy Fraser

Joining the Wildcats in the six-team tournament are local representatives Glace Bay, Riverview and Memorial as well as the Hants East Tigers of Milford Station and the Horton Griffins of Wolfville.  

Sydney Academy last played on Dec. 30, losing 7-1 to the Marauders at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre. The team is on a four-game losing streak but will open the Blue and White tournament against the last team they beat – Riverview.  

The longtime rival Wildcats and Ravens will meet on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre. Glace Bay and Memorial will play earlier in the day at 6 p.m. to begin the tournament.  

Blue and White Contractor Cup 

Location: Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou
Teams: Sydney Academy Wildcats, Glace Bay Panthers, Hants East Tigers, Memorial Marauders, Riverview Ravens and Horton Griffins 

Schedule

Thursday

•  6 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Memorial
•  7:30 p.m. – Riverview vs. Sydney Academy

Friday

•  12 p.m. – Riverview vs. Hants East
•  1:30 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Horton
•  6 p.m. – Memorial vs. Hants East
•  7:30 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Horton

Saturday

•  9 a.m. – Hants East vs. Horton
•  10:30 a.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Memorial
•  12 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Riverview
•  4:30 p.m. – Semifinal
•  6 p.m. – Semifinal

Sunday

•  11 a.m. – Championship Game

“We’re hoping to have a strong start against Riverview because we’ve had a fairly decent record against them this season,” said Lund.  

All four of Sydney Academy’s wins during the regular season have come against Riverview, defeating the Ravens 4-1, 4-0, 2-1 and 6-3 since October.  

The Wildcats will continue the tournament on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Horton before finishing the round-robin on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. against Memorial.  

“We’ve had some tight games off the hop with Memorial, but we’ve struggled a bit with them in the later part of the year,” said Lund, noting the tournament should be well-balanced.  

“We haven’t matched up against Horton this year, but they’re pretty much the same skill level as us, so I think we’ll have three pretty tight games.”  

Horton (9-6-1-0) currently sits in first place in the East Division of the Valley High School Hockey League and second in the overall standings, only behind the Par-en-Bas Sharks. 

Offensively, Charlie Francis leads the way in the regular season with nine goals and 14 points in 13 games. Meanwhile, Jaxon MacNamara and captain Keagan Corbett both have five goals and nine points in 15 games and Anthony Melski has three goals and nine points in 15 games.  

Recent champions

•  2023 – Riverview High School
•  2022 – No Tournament (COVID-19)
•  2021 – No Tournament (COVID-19)
•  2020 – Riverview High School
•  2019 – No Tournament
•  2018 – No Tournament
•  2017 – No Tournament
•  2016 – Woodlawn High School (then known as Prince Andrew High School)
•  2015 – Auburn Drive High School
   

The tournament semifinals are slated for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The championship game will be played on Sunday at 11 a.m. All games are in Membertou. 

The Cape Breton Post requested an interview with a Sydney Academy player for the story. However, permission to speak with a player was not granted by school and centre for education officials. A reason for the request being denied was not provided. 

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