Glace Bay Panthers captain Kale MacDonald is tied for first place in the Cape Breton High School Hockey League scoring race with Memorial's Sam Gracie with seven goals and 22 points in 11 games. MacDonald will lead the Glace Bay team into the annual Panther Classic tournament this week in Glace Bay. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Photo by Jeremy Fraser /Jeremy Fraser
GLACE BAY, N.S. – Words can’t describe the feeling Kale MacDonald had when the Panther Classic high school hockey tournament ended last December.
MacDonald and his Glace Bay Panthers teammates celebrated as the crowd cheered in the background after the host team claimed the Panther Classic title with a 7-2 victory over the Dalbrae Dragons in an all-Cape Breton championship game at Miners Forum in Glace Bay.
For MacDonald, the victory was the biggest of his hockey career to date.
“It was one of the best weekends of my life,” said the Glace Bay product.
“Winning the Panther Classic is the biggest accomplishment when it comes to playing for the team and winning it in front of everyone, they’re the reason we wear the jersey and practice and work hard, so it was special.”
While MacDonald has already had a taste of victory, the Grade 12 forward and captain of the Panthers would like nothing more than to win it one more time before his high school career comes to an end.
Ready to defend
This week, MacDonald and the Panthers will look to defend their Panther Classic title when they host the 26th edition of the tournament at Miners Forum.
Glace Bay will open the tournament on Thursday when they face the Sydney Academy Wildcats. Puck drop is slated for 8 p.m.
For the majority of the Panthers roster, it will be their first Panther Classic. The team has 12 new players in the lineup this year along with six players who played with the club last season.
MacDonald, who will be playing in his third Panther Classic, said he recalls his first game in the tournament, noting the excitement and nervousness to perform in what’s expected to be a jam-packed crowd come Thursday evening.
“The nerves are always there and there’s nothing wrong with that,” said MacDonald, who was recently accepted into the bachelor of science nursing program at Cape Breton University for next fall.
“It can definitely be pretty nerve-racking at the start, but once you get into it, you’re so focused on the game and you just zone out. It’s such a big moment and opportunity, the nerves are definitely there at the start, but they go away.”
Along with the Panthers and Wildcats, the seven-team, four-day tournament will also feature local representatives in the Memorial Marauders and Riverview Ravens as well as the Avon View Avalanche of Windsor, Halifax West Warriors and the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars (CEC) of Truro.
The Panthers (6-3-1-1) enter the tournament sitting tied for second place in the highly competitive Cape Breton High School Hockey League with Riverview (7-3-0-0). Memorial (8-2-1-0) is in first place and Sydney Academy (0-10-0-0) is in fourth place.
BUYING IN
Panthers head coach Dwayne Doucet said despite the club being on the younger side this season, the team is starting to play the way he wants them to.
“The guys are starting to buy in to how the league plays and how different it is from their previous leagues,” he said. “They’re starting to figure things out and hopefully at the right time.”
Glace Bay has only played twice in the last two weeks. The team is currently on a two-game losing streak with losses to Memorial 2-1 last Sunday and Riverview 6-3 on Nov. 24.
Doucet said in order for the Panthers to have success this weekend, the club will need to play better in their own zone.
“It’s playing better defensively, trying to buy into our own end and getting pucks out of our own end and then creating offence off our defensive play and just continue with the attack that way,” he said. “As long as they buy into our own end and play well defensively, I think we’ll have some success.”
MacDonald will be a key part of any success the Panthers have this weekend. He’s currently tied for first place in the high school league scoring race with seven goals and 22 points in 11 games with Memorial’s Sam Gracie.
“He’ll be extremely important for us,” said Doucet, noting MacDonald’s outstanding leadership.
“He has to lead by example on and off the ice, which he does, and if he does that the boys will feed of him and we’ll have some success, for sure.”
Other offensive players the team will lean on will be forwards Kyle Nearing, who leads the team in goals (10) and is second on the club with 21 points as well as Morgan Neville with five goals and nine points in nine games.
Looking at the mainland teams in the tournament, Avon View currently sits in first place in the Valley High School Hockey League with an 8-1-0-0 record, while Halifax West is in fourth place in the Halifax Metro High School Hockey League with a 6-3-0-0 record with games in hand.
As for CEC, the club is in fourth place in the Northern Nova Scotia High School Hockey League with a 5-1-0-0 record with several games in hand on the top three teams in the league.
Tough schedule
“We don’t know a whole lot about them teams, we look at standings and they’re all doing well and are very good hockey teams,” said Doucet.
“It’s going to be a tough schedule for everyone to get through his round robin, but the mainland teams are always good teams and they play well at both ends of the ice and are well-coached.”
Following Thursday night’s tournament opener, Glace Bay won’t have a lot of time to relax. The club will be back on the ice on Friday at noon against Halifax West before facing CEC later in the day at 8 p.m.
The Panthers will finish the round robin portion of the tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Avon View.
The semifinal games are scheduled for Sunday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The championship will be played later in the day at 2:30 p.m.
MacDonald said the team hopes to provide some entertaining hockey for local fans and would like nothing more than to once again celebrate a championship with them come Sunday afternoon.
“There would be nothing like it,” he said.
“It would be an unforgettable experience and it would be amazing, especially to go back-to-back. Having the ‘C’ on my jersey means a lot to me and I know the younger kids look up to me, so it would be a surreal moment and feeling to lift that trophy again at the end of the weekend.”
THE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
- Panther Classic High School Hockey Tournament @ Miners Forum, Glace Bay
Hosted by the Glace Bay Panthers
- Teams: Glace Bay Panthers, Sydney Academy Wildcats, Riverview Ravens, Memorial Marauders, Avon View Avalanche, Halifax West Warriors and Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars (CEC)
Thursday:
6 p.m. – Riverview vs. Memorial
8 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Sydney Academy
Friday:
12 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Halifax West
2 p.m. – Riverview vs. CEC
4 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Avon View
6 p.m. – Memorial vs. Halifax
8 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. CEC
Saturday:
12 p.m. – Memorial vs. Avon View
2 p.m. – Riverview vs. Halifax West
4 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. CEC
6 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Avon View
Sunday:
9 a.m. – Semifinal Game
11 a.m. – Semifinal Game
2:30 p.m. – Championship Game
SCORE RESULTS NIGHTLY:– Following the tournament and can’t make it to all the games? Visit capebretonpost.com nightly for a daily recap from the Panther Classic high school hockey tournament.
LAST FIVE CHAMPIONS:
2023: Glace Bay Panthers
2022: CEC Cougars
2021: Halifax West Warriors
2019: Auburn Drive Eagles
2018: Riverview Ravens
Note: The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
GrayJay Sports
