COXHEATH, N.S. — 

Dylan MacDonald has no regrets playing his final season of high school hockey with the Riverview Redmen, but admits the time went by quickly.

The Grade 12 team captain says he doesn’t know what emotions this weekend will bring when he steps on the ice for his final Red Cup Showcase at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre.

“Red Cup is the biggest thing of the whole school year, so knowing this is the last time I will play in the tournament feels weird,” said MacDonald, a Sydney resident.

“The whole school comes out to support us and it really brings everyone together and really shows the community our school spirit.”

The 41st annual Red Cup Showcase will officially kick off Thursday, running until Sunday at the Coxheath venue.

The Redmen will be joined in the Red Division by the Memorial Marauders of Sydney Mines, Lockview Dragons of Fall River, N.S., and the Avon View Avalanche of Windsor, N.S.

In the White Division, Cape Breton representatives the Glace Bay Panthers and Sydney Academy Wildcats will be joined by the Auburn Drive Eagles of Cole Harbour, N.S., and the Horton Griffins of Wolfville, N.S.

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Red Cup Showcase Schedule:

Cape Breton County Recreation Centre, Coxheath

Red Division: Riverview Redmen, Memorial Marauders, Lockview Dragons and Avon View Avalanche

White Division: Glace Bay Panthers, Sydney Academy Wildcats, Auburn Drive Eagles and Horton Griffins

Thursday

• 6 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Glace Bay
• 8 p.m. – Riverview vs. Memorial

Friday

• 1:30 p.m. – Lockview vs. Memorial
• 3:30 p.m. – Auburn Drive vs. Sydney Academy
• 5:30 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Horton
• 7:30 p.m. – Riverview vs. Avon View

Saturday

• 10 a.m. – Horton vs. Auburn Drive
• 12 p.m. – Lockview vs. Avon View
• 2 p.m. – Horton vs. Sydney Academy
• 4 p.m. – Memorial vs. Avon View
• 6 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Auburn Drive
• 8 p.m. – Riverview vs. Lockview

Sunday

• 1 p.m. – Consolation Game
• 3 p.m. – Championship Game

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Redmen head coach Jimmy Smith believes it’s important for his team to get off to good start in the tournament by winning the opening game against the Memorial Marauders on Thursday.

“There’s no room in the format for errors,” said the veteran bench boss. “If you lose in the round robin you could be out of the final, so basically my only concern is that we’re focused and that we play our game.

Jimmy Smith

“Memorial’s team record is misleading, they have a good team and they have some really good veteran players and two good goaltenders — and goaltending can do some strange things, especially in an important game.”

Riverview has had a successful season to date.

The club sits first overall in the four-team Cape Breton High School Hockey League standings with an 17-1-0-0 record and has captured both the Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold and Panther Classic tournament titles.

“In these tournaments, league standings don’t really mean a lot because you’re playing teams from the mainland and it determines how good the competition is going to be,” said Smith.

“We haven’t seen Auburn Drive and Lockview — two of the bigger schools — so we’ll have to see what they bring and see how we match up.”

The Redmen have 10 returning players from last year’s team, which suffered a 5-0 loss to the Halifax West Warriors in the Red Cup Showcase final last February, something MacDonald hasn’t forgotten.

“It was embarrassing losing to those guys in front of our fans and everyone,” said MacDonald, noting it’s a dream come true for him to be the club’s captain in his graduating year.

“I don’t think losing is an option this year — we want to take it all.”

The tournament will begin Thursday with Glace Bay playing Sydney Academy at 6 p.m., followed by the Redmen and Marauders at 8 p.m.

Riverview will continue the tournament on Friday when they take on Avon View at 7:30 p.m., before wrapping up the round robin on Saturday at 8 p.m. against Lockview.

“You can expect to win, but to a certain extent,” said MacDonald. “You can’t go into a game and think it’s going to be easy. We may have the crowd behind us, but the other team has the same crowd watching, so they want to play their best to beat us in front of them.”

The consolation game is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m., followed by the championship game at 3 p.m.

SYDNEY, N.S. — 

The Cape Breton High School Hockey League officially confirmed its first-round playoff series.

The No. 1 seed Riverview Redmen will face the No. 4 seed Sydney Academy Wildcats in the opening round, while the No. 2 seed Glace Bay Panthers will play the No. 3 seed Memorial Marauders.

Both series' will be the best-of-five.

Glace Bay and Memorial will begin play on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Canada Games Complex. The start date for the Riverview and Sydney Academy series was not announced at press time.

SYDNEY, N.S. — 

Blake Cox scored twice to lead the Riverview Redmen to a 4-1 win over the Glace Bay Panthers in Cape Breton High School Hockey League action at the Canada Games Complex on Sunday.

Andrew McCarron and Bryden Johnston also scored goals for the Redmen, who will begin the Red Cup Showcase on Thursday against the Memorial Marauders at 8 p.m. at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre.

Michael MacMullen made 19 saves in the win. Nick Bigley turned aside 14 of 18 shots in the loss.

COXHEATH, N.S. — 

Kinnon Williams had a two goals and an assist to lead the Riverview Redmen to a 6-2 win over the Memorial Marauders in Cape Breton High School Hockey League action at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre on Friday.

Blake Cox, Brady MacLean, Carter Harnish and Andrew McCarron also scored goals for the Redmen (15-1-0-0).

Jacob Fraser netted both goals for the Marauders (6-10-2-0).

Riverview will continue its regular season on Sunday when they face the Glace Bay Panthers at 1:30 p.m. at the Canada Games Complex on the Cape Breton University campus.

As for the Marauders, the team will next play on Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre when they battle the Redmen in Game 2 of the Red Cup Showcase.

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Twitter: @CBPost_Sports

 

More than five years ago a community rallied behind a little boy's courageous battle with cancer.

Sadly seven year-old Kellen Surette lost that battle in 2013.

Wednesday night, the high school team his father coaches and their opponents took a stand against cancer in Kellen’s memory.

The Sydney Academy Wildcats stepped onto the ice wearing special orange and black jerseys in honour of Surette.

Their opponents were the Glace Bay Panthers, but Wednesday night’s game was more than just a game as both teams were playing for Team Kellen. 

“My daughter and Sheldon are very strong people,” said Barry Martin, Kellen’s grandfather. “They went through this. I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but even to lose a grandchild was a heart-wrenching thing.”

Surette was seven years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia. After a short fight, he tragically died in September of 2013.

During that time the support grew beyond anyone's expectations. 

“It really was a lift. You couldn't believe what was happening. The community rallied together, money coming from everywhere. It was just amazing,” said Martin.

Across the ice, Michael Doucet remembers Kellen's courageous battle fondly; that's because he was in Grade 12 at time and was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma himself.

The two young boys shared a benefit dance together and Michael is now cancer-free and was happy to be part of the special night.

“It was hard,” Doucet said. “There was a lot tired and weak nights that everything felt horrible, but at the same time it brought a lot of people together. It was a memorable time, I'll say.”

The game of hockey has a way of bringing people together. Wednesday night, the stands here were filled with emotion, as family, friends, and fans held signs in memory of loved ones, taking a stand together against cancer.

But the most touching moment of all might have been when Kellen's younger brother, Jonah stepped on to the ice for the pre-game skate wearing Kellen's number 8.

“Little heart wrenching, I think, but it's good, it's good,” said Martin.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.

SYDNEY, NS — Jarrett Hicks scored three times to help the Glace Bay Panthers down the Sydney Academy Wildcats 11-3 in Cape Breton High School Hockey League action at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre on Wednesday.
Dylan MacDonald and David Beaton each scored twice for the Panthers while Matthew MacIntosh, Connor MacIntyre, Xavier Johnson and Ty Clarke added single markers for Glace Bay (12-3-1-0).

Zach Conn, Justin Thistle and Ethan MacInnis replied with goals for the Wildcats (0-16-0-0).

Nick Bigley made 14 saves in the win for Glace Bay. Hunter Chenhall and Donny GooGoo shared time in goal for Sydney Academy. Chenhall was tagged with the loss.

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