League News

HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY: Riverview Ravens back on top as Highland Region Division 1 champions after beating Glace Bay Panthers

Members of the Riverview Ravens celebrate after winning the School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey championship with a 7-4 victory over the Glace Bay Panthers at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday. From left, Ayden Ball, Carter MacDonald, Lucas Phillippo and Ty MacDonald. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST

The Riverview Ravens can once again call themselves the School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey champions.

Riverview defeated the Glace Bay Panthers 7-4 in Game 2 of the best-of-three series in front of an estimated crowd of 400 people at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday.

The Ravens sweep the series 2-0 and advance to the provincial championship next month in Northumberland Region.

It’s Riverview’s second Division 1 hockey championship in the last three years after the Panthers knocked off the Ravens to win the title in 2024. Riverview won the league championship in 2023.

Ty MacDonald and Matthew Burke each scored twice while Owen Buckley, Lucas Phillippo and Rory Mills added single markers for the Ravens.

Kyle Nearing had a pair of goals while Cohen McNeil and Morgan Neville also chipped in with goals for the Panthers.

Riverview’s Kayden Mollons made 22 saves. Glace Bay’s Logan Reddick-McGuire stopped six of nine shots before being replaced by Brandon MacNeil, who turned aside 16 of 20 shots in his 33 minutes of relief.

Kyle Nearing of the Glace Bay Panthers, left, attempts to jam the puck through the left pad of Riverview Ravens goaltender Kayden Mollons during School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey championship action at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday. Riverview won the game 7-4. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser

The Ravens scored three times in just over three minutes in the first period with Buckley, Phillippo and Burke finding the back of the net.

MacDonald added to the lead in the second period with a power play marker before Neville cut the lead to three for the Panthers. MacDonald would again score on the power play to make the score 5-1, but McNeil responded before the end of the middle frame to again pull Glace Bay to three.

Nearing made the score 5-3 early in the third period before Mills fired one past MacNeil. The Panthers continued to press with Nearing notching his second of the game before Burke put the contest out of reach with his second of the contest with 1:31 left in regulation time.

Matthew Burke of the Riverview Ravens, left, gets tripped up by Kolby Leforte of the Glace Bay Panthers during School Sport Nova Scotia Highland Region Division 1 hockey championship action at Miners Forum in Glace Bay on Thursday. Riverview won the game 7-4. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser

Riverview’s journey to the championship didn’t come as easy as one may think. The team had to win three series to claim the title.

The Ravens never lost a game in the playoffs, eliminating the Sydney Academy Wildcats in two games in the quarterfinal and the Memorial Marauders in two games in the league semifinal before playing the Panthers.

Glace Bay went directly to the championship series after sweeping the Wildcats in the opening round.

The team went more than two weeks without playing a game following the Red Cup Showcase in early February before hitting the ice on Tuesday for Game 1 of the final series. The Panthers lost that game 5-4 in double overtime in Coxheath.

While Ravens will go directly to the provincial championship, the Panthers season isn’t over yet. The team will play a qualifying game against a club from either the Northumberland or Capital regions with the winner moving on to the provincial tournament.

The date, location and opponent for the Panthers was not confirmed at publication time.

As for playoff player statistics, they weren’t accurately updated at press time.

Feb 28, 2025

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Riverview Ravens defend Red Cup Showcase title with win over Northumberland Nighthawks

The Riverview Ravens celebrate their 3-2 Red Cup championship win over the Northumberland Nighthawks on Sunday at the Cape Breton Recreation Centre in Coxheath. Photo by IAN NATHANSON/CAPE BRETON POST

The Riverview Ravens are once again the Red Cup Showcase champions.

The host Ravens defended their tournament title with a 3-2 win over the Northumberland Nighthawks of Westville in front of a raucous crowd at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath on Sunday.

Lucas Phillippo was the hero for the hometown Ravens, scoring all three goals for the hat trick in the first period.

John-Kay Martin had both goals for the Nighthawks, who will host the School Sport Nova Scotia provincial championship next month in Pictou County.

Riverview’s Kayden Mollons made 18 saves. Northumberland’s Briac Cameron stopped 23 of 26 shots.

Phillippo opened the scoring for Riverview at 13:23 of the first period before adding to the Ravens lead shortly after at 8:57 with his second goal of the game. He completed the hat trick at the 6:19 mark to give the Ravens a 3-0 lead.

Martin would cut the lead to two before the end of the first frame at 1:36 before pulling the Nighthawks to one at 13:51 of the second period, but that’s as close at they would come to tying the game.

The Nighthawks had a five-minute power play stretching between the second and third periods after Nick Lawrence with given a major penalty for interference late in the second frame.

More rough stuff ensued at the final horn with Northumberland’s Martin MacArthur and Riverview’s Ben MacDonald receiving fighting majors. MacDonald also picked up a physical harassment of an official penalty.

The win marks back-to-back Red Cup victories for Riverview under the Ravens moniker and an 11th overall title for the Coxheath high school since the tournament began in 1978.

The last time Riverview won back-to-back titles came from 2011 to 2013 when the team was successful in winning the tournament three consecutive years.

ROAD TO THE TITLE

Riverview secured its spot in the championship game with a 5-1 win over the Dalbrae Dragons of Mabou in the tournament semifinal on Saturday night.

Ayden Ball scored three times while Owen Buckley added a pair of goals for the Ravens.

Donald Gillis had the lone goal for the Dragons.

Riverview’s Baxter Lawrence made 12 saves. Dalbrae’s Hayden Gillies stopped 22 of 27 shots.

As for the Nighthawks, they beat the Memorial Marauders 5-1 in the semifinal, also on Saturday night.

MacArthur scored twice while Chace Campbell, Rory Cameron and Cole Miller added single markers for the Nighthawks.

Sam Gracie had the lone goal for the Marauders.

Northumberland’s Cameron made 16 saves. Memorial’s Levi Hull stopped 17 of 21 shots.

Riverview finished the tournament round-robin with a 2-0-1-0 record. The club beat Sydney Academy 7-1 and Northumberland 4-2. The club’s only loss came to the Dartmouth Spartans 3-2 in overtime.

Tournament award winners were not available at publication time.

Next up on the high school hockey schedule is the Highland region playoffs. Riverview will face Sydney Academy and Memorial will play Dalbrae. A schedule for the series was not released at publication.

Feb 10, 2025