COXHEATH, N.S. —
Michael MacMullen knows what it feels like to win the prestigious Red Cup Showcase championship trophy.
The 18-year-old goaltender was part of the Riverview Redmen championship team that defeated the Auburn Drive Eagles 4-3 in the tournament final last February.
Although it’s a moment the Sydney River native will never forget, he hopes to have that same feeling one final time later this week.
“It was an unbelievable experience to win the championship last year,” said MacMullen, who was also named the tournament’s top goaltender last year.
“I still remember the crowd and being on the ice and just remembering the play going on; it was a surreal moment.”
The Grade 12 student, who has an 8-0 regular-season record, will play in his third and final home tournament this week when the Redmen host the 42nd annual Red Cup Showcase at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.
The four-day tournament will include the Redmen, Glace Bay Panthers, Memorial Marauders, Sydney Academy Wildcats, Dalbrae Dragons of Mabou, Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals of Antigonish, and the Northumberland Nighthawks of Westville.
The tournament will begin on Wednesday with two games on the schedule. Riverview will play Memorial at 5 p.m., while Glace Bay and Sydney Academy take to the ice at 7 p.m.
BIO
MICHAEL MACMULLEN
- Hometown: Sydney River, N.S.
- Age: 18
- Position: Goaltender
- Team: Riverview Redmen
- Grade: 12
MacMullen admits he hasn't thought much about this being his final tournament but is more focused on being ready to play the games.
“I don’t really think about stuff until it happens or until it’s over, but when I look back, I know it’s going to be emotional towards the end,” said MacMullen, who began playing nets during his first year of atom hockey.
“It’s going to be a great week of hockey; I’m a little disappointed the games aren’t at 7 p.m., but it’s still going to be a great tournament.”
Riverview, who won the Blue and White tournament last month, enters the event as the top team in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League with a 15-1-0-0 record, six points ahead of second-place Glace Bay in the standings.
The team has scored the second-most goals (70) behind only Glace Bay (79), while the goaltending duo of MacMullen and Josh Leudy has allowed the fewest goals-against (28) through 16 games.
Forward Nathaniel Fuller leads the Cape Breton league in points with 16 goals and 18 assists.
Meanwhile, Kendall MacQueen has recorded 11 goals and 20 points in 15 games. A.J. Ley (6 goals and 12 assists, 18 points) and Chase Sampson (8 goals and 8 assists, 16 points) are also in the league’s top 10 in points.
Redmen head coach Jimmy Smith said his team is well prepared for the tournament.
“We’re as ready as we’re going to be,” he said. “We’ve just got over some injuries and the boys are excited, so we’re ready to get things started.”
Riverview has six returning players from last year’s team, along with 11 first-year players, however, Smith doesn’t consider the club to be as deep in offense as last year.
“Nathaniel Fuller is a nice offensive player for us and has led the team in points this year,” said Smith. “He plays a hard-grinding game — I try to keep him away from that and stick to the goal-scoring part.”
This year’s tournament will have some changes to its format. The event will take place from Wednesday to Saturday, instead of the traditional Thursday to Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Redmen will also play earlier games during the day and will not play any games after 5 p.m., a decision made by both the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education and Riverview High School.
Despite some controversy over the tournament changes, Smith said the team never got involved in it and focused on playing hockey.
“The administrative stuff is not our department — we stayed away from it,” said Smith. “We just focused on what we had control over and that was hockey, so hopefully everything will work out for everybody.”
Following Wednesday's game, Riverview will take on Dr. J.H. Gillis on Thursday at 5 p.m. The team will play a pair of games on Friday at 1 p.m. against Northumberland and 5 p.m. against Sydney Academy.
The tournament semifinals are slated for Saturday at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., while the championship game will be played later in the day at 4 p.m.
As for MacMullen, for now, he’ll enjoy his final Red Cup games and hopes to hoist the championship trophy over his head one final time this weekend.
“The more nervous I get, I find the better I play and the more confident I am because I don’t want to mess up,” said MacMullen. “I’ll be locked in, knowing there’s no more chances to win the Red Cup after this week.”
RED CUP SHOWCASE SCHEDULE
Teams: Riverview Redmen, Glace Bay Panthers, Memorial Marauders, Sydney Academy Wildcats, Dalbrae Dragons, Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals, and Northumberland Nighthawks
Wednesday:
- 5 p.m. – Riverview vs. Memorial
- 7 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Sydney Academy
Thursday:
- 5 p.m. – Riverview vs. Dr. J.H. Gillis
- 7 p.m. – Dalbrae vs. Northumberland
Friday:
- 9 a.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Dr. J.H. Gillis
- 11 a.m. – Glace Bay vs. Dalbrae
- 1 p.m. – Riverview vs. Northumberland
- 3 p.m. – Memorial vs. Dr. J.H. Gillis
- 5 p.m. – Riverview vs. Sydney Academy
- 7 p.m. – Dalbrae vs. Memorial
- 9 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Northumberland
Saturday:
- 10 a.m. – Semifinal
- 12 p.m. – Semifinal
- 4 p.m. – Championship Game
*All games played at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre, Coxheath.
GrayJay Sports
