In addition to the traditional Valley schools – Avon View, Horton, NKEC, Central Kings, West Kings, Bridgetown and Digby and Park View, which joined a couple of years ago – this year, Forest Heights, Bridgewater, Barrington, Yarmouth and Ecole Par-en-Bas are also playing. Middleton is not playing this year.
Horton head coach Greg Byrne said the VHSHL looks fairly even so far, with “a lot of good teams, and a lot of balance.”
With 13 teams in the boys’ division, “everybody is getting to play a lot of hockey,” he added.
There are some strong teams on the South Shore, he added, with “a lot of former major midget players that have chosen to play high school,” making for good competition.
Byrne wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about a 13-team league, however.
“It’s been interesting,” he said. “It’s a trial run for this season. We’ll see what happens.”
Central Kings head coach Dave Allen was also reserving comment on the 13-team league.
“The league is very even,” he said. “Any team can win on any given night.”
CK defeats Horton
Central Kings had a come-from-behind win Nov. 8 against host team Horton at the Kentville Centennial Arena. The Griffins took a 2-0 lead on goals by Riley Urquhart and Lyam Curry. CK got one goal back in the second period off the stick of Dylan McCarthy, but still trailed 2-1 after two periods.
The Gators tied the score early in the third period with a goal from Nathan McCarthy. It remained 2-2 until Wyatt Stark broke the tie for CK with 1:03 left on the clock.
Stark added an empty-net goal at 19:59 to clinch a 4-2 Gators’ victory.
The Gators, Allen said, “are a good unit, with good atmosphere – a joy to be around and coach. Our goalie (Ben Best) is in Grade 12, and we have a veteran defence.”
On the other hand, Allen added, “most of our forwards are in Grade 10 or 11.”
The key to success, Allen said, will be staying out of the penalty box.
As for the Griffins, Byrne said, “we’re where we should be. We’re looking OK, and we’ll be in the mix (at the end). I’ve been satisfied so far.”
In other VHSHL action Nov. 8, Par-en-Bas blanked Digby 12-0. On Nov. 7, Yarmouth edged Forest Heights 6-5 in overtime, West Kings topped Bridgewater 7-3, Park View defeated Horton 5-3 and Bridgetown outscored Digby 6-3.
A look at the standings
At the close of play Nov. 8, CK topped the standings with six wins and an overtime loss for 13 points.
Allen said that while his team is in first place, “it’s still early. We have to show up for every game and not get too over-confident.”
Forest Heights was second with five wins and an overtime loss for 11 points and Par-en-Bas was at 4-1 for eight points. Park View had three wins and two shootout losses, also good for eight points. Horton was at 4-4, also for eight points, and NKEC had three wins and a overtime loss for seven points.
In addition to the traditional Valley schools – Avon View, Horton, NKEC, Central Kings, West Kings, Bridgetown and Digby and Park View, which joined a couple of years ago – this year, Forest Heights, Bridgewater, Barrington, Yarmouth and Ecole Par-en-Bas are also playing. Middleton is not playing this year.
Horton head coach Greg Byrne said the VHSHL looks fairly even so far, with “a lot of good teams, and a lot of balance.”
With 13 teams in the boys’ division, “everybody is getting to play a lot of hockey,” he added.
There are some strong teams on the South Shore, he added, with “a lot of former major midget players that have chosen to play high school,” making for good competition.
Byrne wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about a 13-team league, however.
“It’s been interesting,” he said. “It’s a trial run for this season. We’ll see what happens.”
Central Kings head coach Dave Allen was also reserving comment on the 13-team league.
“The league is very even,” he said. “Any team can win on any given night.”
CK defeats Horton
Central Kings had a come-from-behind win Nov. 8 against host team Horton at the Kentville Centennial Arena. The Griffins took a 2-0 lead on goals by Riley Urquhart and Lyam Curry. CK got one goal back in the second period off the stick of Dylan McCarthy, but still trailed 2-1 after two periods.
The Gators tied the score early in the third period with a goal from Nathan McCarthy. It remained 2-2 until Wyatt Stark broke the tie for CK with 1:03 left on the clock.
Stark added an empty-net goal at 19:59 to clinch a 4-2 Gators’ victory.
The Gators, Allen said, “are a good unit, with good atmosphere – a joy to be around and coach. Our goalie (Ben Best) is in Grade 12, and we have a veteran defence.”
On the other hand, Allen added, “most of our forwards are in Grade 10 or 11.”
The key to success, Allen said, will be staying out of the penalty box.
As for the Griffins, Byrne said, “we’re where we should be. We’re looking OK, and we’ll be in the mix (at the end). I’ve been satisfied so far.”
In other VHSHL action Nov. 8, Par-en-Bas blanked Digby 12-0. On Nov. 7, Yarmouth edged Forest Heights 6-5 in overtime, West Kings topped Bridgewater 7-3, Park View defeated Horton 5-3 and Bridgetown outscored Digby 6-3.
A look at the standings
At the close of play Nov. 8, CK topped the standings with six wins and an overtime loss for 13 points.
Allen said that while his team is in first place, “it’s still early. We have to show up for every game and not get too over-confident.”
Forest Heights was second with five wins and an overtime loss for 11 points and Par-en-Bas was at 4-1 for eight points. Park View had three wins and two shootout losses, also good for eight points. Horton was at 4-4, also for eight points, and NKEC had three wins and a overtime loss for seven points.
