Battle of Charlotte County resumes

Jeremy Townes/Courier photos
Blacks Harbour Silverkings Nick Theriault, left, is all smiles during a bout with St. Stephen Seahawk Brad Burns Friday night at the Border Arena. Blacks Harbour won 11-5.

Playoff pieces falling into place

By JEREMY TOWNES
sports@stcroixcourier.ca

ST. STEPHEN – The final week of the SHL season has arrived following another busy weekend of hockey action that saw all five teams on the ice.
Currently holding down first place with 42 points, the Blacks Harbour Silverkings have a one-point lead over the second place St. Andrews Thrashers with one game remaining in their schedule. But with two games to play this weekend, the Thrashers stand a chance of finishing in first place once again. The final outcome for first and second will be decided Feb. 14 at the W.C. O’Neill Arena in St. Andrews with the victor claiming top spot for the 2008/2009 season.
Despite the narrow points gap between first and second place, the same can’t be said for second and third. The Thrashers have a 20-point lead over the St. Stephen Seahawks, who sit in third and hope to retain that position after this weekend’s games. With 21 points in the standings, St. Stephen is three up on the Nackawic Hawks with 18, and four points up on fifth place Fredericton with 17. The slumping Hilltop Bud Lights will host the Hawks Thursday night. St. Stephen will play St. Andrews Friday night and baring a small miracle it’s unlikely the Seahawks will earn a point, meaning a Feb. 14 meeting between Nackawic and St. Stephen will likely be a battle for third place and a chance to avoid an opening round quarter-final series against Fredericton. The third place finisher advances directly to the semi-final against the second place finisher.
In a recap of last week’s games, St. Andrews thumped Fredericton 6-1 at the York Arena in the capitol city on Thursday night. League scoring leader Craig Soke had a three-goal evening for the Thrashers while Kyle Werner, Kevin Werner, and Warren Toole filled the net for the other three goals. Reg Bourcier made 22 of 23 saves as the winning goalie. Jeff Piercy had the single marker for the Hilltop Bud Lights and Martin Speer saved 42 of the 48 shots he faced in a losing effort.
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Border Arena was the site for the last regular season meeting between long time rivals St. Stephen and Blacks Harbour and it was undoubtedly the worst showing the Seahawks have made all season after winning four of their last five games. 111 penalty minutes were handed out during the game, 60 going toward the Silverkings, but the visiting team still managed to outshoot St. Stephen 52 to 43 en route to an 11-5 trouncing. Anton Mikhailov led the Blacks Harbour attack with a hat trick, while Robbie George and Dave Reynolds each scored a pair of goals. Ryan Locke, Eric Jean, Thatcher Bell, and Rene George all added solo markers for the Silverkings. Aaron Molnar made 38 saves for the win between the pipes. Sean Turner led the Seahawks scoring with a pair of goals. Dave Geris, Fred Walsh and Neil Dalton also found the net. Nick Nozzolillo made 41 saves in the loss.
On Saturday St. Andrews was back at it again, this time at home against Nackawic. Craig Soke scored four times to lead the Thrashers to an 11-4 dumping of the Hawks who have been struggling since the mid-season draft. Tyler Deitrich and Jeff Wilson each had a pair of goals for the winners while Kyle Werner, Kevin Werner, and Andy Diduch picked up solo markers. Mike Vaughan earned the win in goal making 17 saves. Matt Seymour had a pair of goals for Nackawic while Steve Pierce and Kyle Gailey added single markers. Jordan Mean suffered the loss in goal making 29 saves.