Nathaniel Fuller scored a hat trick in regulation time for the Redmen

NORTH SYDNEY – There was no shortage of drama as the Glace Bay Panthers claimed the 2019 Mae Kibyuk Green and Gold hockey tournament with a 4-3 overtime victory over the two-time defending champion Riverview Redmen.

The longtime rivals and recent powerhouses of Cape Breton high school hockey resumed acquaintances in Sunday’s championship game at the Emera Centre Northside after each team won their semifinal matches on Saturday evening.

Riverview opened the scoring in the first period on a by Nathaniel Fuller, but the Panthers clawed back with a second period equalizer off the stick of Jarrett Hicks and a go-ahead goal later in the frame by Xavier Johnson. However, the lead would be short-lived as the Redmen’s Curtis Novak knotted the affair just a minute later.

The game remained tied until late in the third period when Johnson scored his second goal of the game to give Glace Bay the lead. But the drama was far from over. With just 10 seconds remaining in regulation time Fuller notched his second of the game to tie it up.

The matter was then decided when Liam Burke scored the tournament-winning goal in overtime with the assist credited to Johnson.

Glace Bay earned their ticket in the final after trouncing the host Memorial Marauders 7-1 with goals going to Xavier Johnson, David Beaton, Adam Hicks, Matthew Crane, Mitchell Hiscock, Alec Campbell and Connor MacIntyre. Jacob Jessome responded for Memorial.

Riverview defeated Sydney Academy 5-1 in the other semifinal. Fuller had two goals for the Redmen, while single tallies were recorded by AJ Ley, Liam Robertson and Sam MacKinnon. Dante Basque scored for Sydney.

The Prince Andrew Panthers, Dalbrae Dragons, SAERC Saints and the JL Ilsely Judges also took part in the four-day annual competition.

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NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. — Action continued at the Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament action at the Emera Centre Northside on Friday.
The first game of the day saw Riverview defeat Dalbrae 4-1. Scorers for Riverview include Kendall MacQueen, Chase Sampson and Nathan Fuller with two. Jayden Muise had the loan marker for Dalbrae. Josh Leudy took the win in goal for Riverview with 30 saves while Boyd MacIntyre suffered the loss for Dalbrae.
It was Sydney Academy over SAERC in the second game of the day with a final score of 4-3. Sydney Academy scorers included Connor Campbell, Justin Thistle, Ashten Dawson and Zach Gunn. Daniel MacGillivrary had the win in nets with 13 saves while Brady Pelrine took the loss with 23 shots. SAERC scorers included Brady MacNeil with two and Brady White with one.
Prince Andrew went against Dalbrae in the afternoon with Prince Andrew emerging victorious with a score of 2-1. Prince Andrew scorers included Luke MacDonald and Ty Doucette. Braydon Moss registered the win and stopped 14 shots on goal. Jaydon Muise scored Dalbrae's lone goal. Eric MacIsaac suffered the loss with 21 shot on goal.
In later games through the day, J.L. Ilsley went against SAERC, Glace Bay played Prince Andrew and Memorial took on J.L. Ilsley in the day’s final match. No further information was available on those final scores as of press time.

Memorial Marauders captain Dovi Walker says there’s a lot of excitement around the school heading into the annual Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament, an energy the host side hopes to harness on the ice.

“There are a lot of fans there and if our team makes a good play or we score, the fans go crazy,” said the 17-year-old forward from Sydney Mines. The Grade 12 student will play in his third and final Green and Gold.

“It’s a great feeling going out there and having the fans supporting your school and it’s a great turnout.”

The four Cape Breton High School Hockey League teams open play Thursday at the Emera Centre Northside. The Riverview Redmen and Glace Bay Panthers kick things off at 6 p.m., followed by the host Marauders versus the Sydney Academy Wildcats at 7:45 p.m.

“We have a good shot at doing well in the tournament,” said Walker. “The other teams are definitely strong but I think if our team comes together, we’ll turn out OK.”

This year will feature eight teams competing for the tournament title, up from only six last season. The host Marauders will play in the Gold Division along with Sydney Academy, SAERC Saints of Port Hawkesbury and J.L. Ilsley Judges of Halifax. The Green Division features the two-time defending tournament champion Redmen, Glace Bay, Dalbrae Dragons of Mabou and the Prince Andrew Panthers of Dartmouth.

It’s only early in the local league’s season, but the Marauders enter the tournament with one victory in their first four games. Memorial head coach Terry Duff said with the Green and Gold being so early in the campaign, it’s a good way to get into gear.

His squad has eight Grade 12 players looking to make an impact in their final shot at tournament gold.

“You get to know what type of game you need to play against the different teams and you have your own team identity,” said Duff. “We don’t have the lineup to play a run-and-gun style with other strong teams, so our team defence, we have to concentrate on that.

“This tournament will be a test for them once the pace of the play gets a little higher, how they’re going to adjust to it.”

The top two teams in each division move on to the semifinals on Saturday night at 6:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. The winners move on to the championship game at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

2019 Mae Kibyuk Memorial

Green and Gold Hockey Tournament

Emera Centre Northside, North Sydney

Gold Division: Memorial Marauders, Sydney Academy Wildcats, SAERC Saints, J.L. Ilsley Judges

Green Division: Riverview Redmen, Glace Bay Panthers, Dalbrae Dragons, Prince Andrew Panthers

Thursday

• 6 p.m. – Riverview vs. Glace Bay
• 7:45 p.m. – Memorial vs. Sydney Academy

Friday

• 10:45 a.m. – Dalbrae vs. Riverview
• 12:30 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. SAERC
• 2:15 p.m. – Prince Andrew vs. Dalbrae
• 4 p.m. – J.L. Ilsley vs. SAERC
• 5:45 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Prince Andrew
• 7:30 p.m. – Memorial vs. J.L. Ilsley

Saturday

• 9:30 a.m. - Prince Andrew vs. Riverview
• 11:15 a.m. – Sydney Academy vs. J.L. Ilsley
• 1 p.m. – Memorial vs. SAERC
• 2:45 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Dalbrae
• 6:15 p.m. – 1st Gold vs. 2nd Green
• 8 p.m. – 1st Green vs. 2nd Gold

Sunday

• 11 a.m. - Championship

Sam MacKinnon scored twice to lead the Riverview Redmen to a 5-0 victory over the Memorial Marauders in Cape Breton High School Hockey League action at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre on Friday.

Tanner Udle, Nathaniel Fuller and Brady Lavin also found the back of the net for the Redmen (4-0-0-0).

With the loss, Memorial's record falls to 1-2-0-1.

Josh Leudy made 23 saves for the shutout. Goaltending information for Memorial was not available.

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The Riverview Redmen picked up their second win of the season on Sunday, defeating the Glace Bay Panthers 4-2 in Cape Breton High School Hockey League action at the Canada Games Complex.

Nathaniel Fuller, Bryce MacKenzie, Sam MacKinnon and Liam Robertson found the back of the net for the Redmen (2-0-0-0).

Adam Hicks and Jarrett Hicks answered with goals for the Panthers (1-2-0-0).

Cape Breton High School Hockey League action continues today with the Memorial Marauders hosting the Sydney Academy Wildcats at 8:30 p.m. at the Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney.