League News

Cape Breton High School Hockey League kicks off regular season with four games to begin opening week

Jackson Gerrow of the Memorial Marauders, right, prepares to make a move on the Sydney Academy Wildcats goaltender during Cape Breton High School Hockey League action last season at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney. Gerrow will be among the returning players to the Marauders lineup this season. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST

The Cape Breton High School Hockey League will kick off its 2025-26 regular season this week with four games on the schedule with team home openers.

The new campaign will begin on Tuesday night with the Sydney Academy Wildcats hosting the Memorial Marauders at 7 p.m., at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre.

Meanwhile, Memorial will host the Glace Bay Panthers in their home opener on Thursday night at 7:40 p.m., at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney.

The defending league champion Riverview Ravens will open their season against Sydney Academy on Friday at 8 p.m.

As for the Panthers, they will be on home ice at the Miners Forum on Sunday at 7 p.m., when they battle Riverview.

On the ice for the Panthers, the team will see the return of Cohen McNeil, who finished third in team scoring last season with 14 goals and 20 points in eight games. Goalie Brandon MacNeil will also be among the returning players.

As for the Ravens, the team lost a lot of goal scoring from last season with graduations. Returning defenceman Nick Lawrence was fourth in team scoring with four goals and 17 points. The club will also welcome back starting goaltending Kayden Mollons.

The Marauders, like the Ravens, will be without several key offensive players from last year. However, Jackson Gerrow, who finished fourth in team scoring with seven goals and 16 points in 15 games, will be returning. Goaltender Levi Hull will also be back for the club after a strong 2024-25 campaign.

Sydney Academy will see the return of forward Anthony Melski, who was third in team scoring last season with two goals and six points in 14 games. Mikeda MacEwan will be the only returning goaltender from last year.

NEW COACHES

Off the ice, the league will see two new head coaches behind the bench.

Well-known local coach Ken Tracey will return to the bench as the head coach of the Panthers this season, replacing Dwayne Doucette. Meanwhile, Jacob Jessome will be the new bench boss for Memorial, taking over the duties from Marc Lyle.

The first local tournament will take place from Nov. 6-9 with the annual Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Tournament, hosted by Memorial, at Emera Centre Northside.

Following the Memorial event, Sydney Academy will host its Blue and White Challenge from Nov. 20-23 at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre. The tournament normally takes place in January.

The Panther Classic, hosted by Glace Bay, is scheduled for Dec. 4-7 at Miners Forum in Glace Bay, before the local tournament scene wraps up with the Red Cup Showcase from Feb. 5-8 at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.

The Highland regional championship must be completed by Feb. 28. The provincial championship, hosted by Capital Region this year, is scheduled for March 27-29.

HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

– Nov. 6-9 – Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold – Emera Centre Northside, North Sydney
– Nov. 20-23 – Blue and White Challenge – Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou
– Dec. 4-7 – Panther Classic – Miners Forum, Glace Bay
– Feb. 5-8 – Red Cup Showcase – Cape Breton County Recreation Centre, Coxheath
Note: The tournament schedules will be announced in the coming weeks.

Oct 14, 2025

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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