(Contributed by Chrissy Rose)
The Flames are only one win away from the NS Bantam “A” provincial title after a convincing 5-1 victory over the Halifax Hawks Red Tuesday night at the Sandy Wickens Memorial Arena in Barrington.
A huge and boisterous crowd welcomed the hometown Flames to the ice as they continued their journey toward a provincial title.
The visiting Hawks trying to spoil the party, jumped out to an early lead after Ian Carver banked a puck in off an unsuspecting Flames defender only 47 seconds into the game.
Justin Smith answered back midway through the opening frame to settle the nerves and get the crowd back into the game and behind the Flames.
From that point on it seemed as if the Shelburne County boys had found their legs, as they started to take the edge in play until finally Noah Smith blasted home the eventual game winner on a screened shot from the blueline with 5:38 remaining in the second period.
Another Shelburne goal barely over a minute later sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy, as Brady Nickerson sniped home a shot low to the blockerside after a great pass by Lex Swaine, staking the locals to a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission.
Knowing that the visiting Halifax squad would give a push back in the third, the Flames found themselves having to kill off an early penalty.
After the successful penalty kill, the Flames grabbed some insurance as Maguire Nickerson banged home a rebound with just under 10 minutes to play.
Keeping up the pressure and defending strong, the Flames ended any hope the Hawks might of had as Nickerson added his second goal of the game into the empty net. Devon Nickerson stopped 23 of 24 shots between the pipes for the Flames.
This was the first time a Shelburne County team has won a South Conference title and advanced to the provincial championship game since the new provincial format was implemented 4 seasons ago.
The Flames will now face the winner of the North Conference at the RBC Provincial Day of Champions at 5pm on April 8th at the LCLC in Bridgewater.
The Flames would like to thank all the fans who packed the arena in support Tuesday evening, making for an electric atmosphere and a great game of hockey. Let’s hope we see lots of Flames supporters make the trek to Bridgewater on the 8th as the locals try to finish their journey in style.
Up next the Flames play for their WNMHL Day of Champions playoff banner on Sunday at 1pm vs Clare/Digby at Queens Place in Liverpool.
The Bantam squad would also like to wish the Peewee “A” team the best of luck as they host the Halifax Hawks on Saturday for their South Conference championship.
