LOWER SACKVILLE: The host Kings Hockey Club; Basin Armada; Valley Wildcats; and Fundy Thunder all picked up a win apiece to kick off day one of the N.S. Under-16 AAA Hockey League provincials.
The tournament runs Saturday and Sunday, with the top two teams battling for a spot at Atlantics.
Game action with key games continues Saturday as teams look to better their record and put themselves into the conversation for which two will be in the final Sunday morning.
The championship game is at 9 am in Lower Sackville at the Sackville Arena.
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Against the Armada, the Bedford based team struck first with a nice goal as the player skated away from a defender and across in front of Kings goalie Nolan McLauchlan before the puck snuck through the wickets on the Enfield product and in.
In the second period and third, the Kings seemed to find their groove and legs and took it to the Armada, although on at least one goal Payson Stewart was unlucky as he got a piece of it, and it looked like he thought he had it, but it flipped out the other side and across the goal line.
Max Blackwood of Beaver Bank had the game winner on the power-play.
Other Kings goal scorers were Jackson Orchard of Lantz and Josh Hollett, a Major Bantam Ranger alum.
Alex Damczyk of the Fall River area had an assist on Espen Simensen’s tally that got the scoring started for the Armada.
McLauchlan stopped 33 of 34 shots sent his way, while Wellington’s Stewart snagged 32 of 35 pucks.
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Against the Buccs, Fall River Will Devereaux got the start between the pipes but didn’t get much offence in front of him and fell 4-1.
Former Elmsdale resident Will Singer had the lone goal for the Thunder in the game.
Devereaux managed to stop 24 pucks on 28 shots.
In their second game, Singer had a hat trick and two assists to propel Fundy to a thunder-ing victory over the Kings Hockey club 5-4. This included an even strength; power-play; and short-handed tallies.
Elmsdale’s Chace Munden had a goal and an assist for the Kings, while Max Blackwood chipped in with two helpers.
Nate Beaton was in goal for the Kings, stopping 21 of the 26 shots he faced.
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Meanwhile, the first-place Armada, after the loss to the Kings earlier, rebounded for a huge 7-1 victory over the Wildcats.
Fall River area winger Alex Damczyk had two assists in the game for the Armada.
Liam Conlon of Windsor Junction had a goal and three helpers in the win.
Dylan Benautio had 35 saves on 36 shots.
The Valley Wildcats beat the Buccs 3-1 in the late evening game.
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On Day two, Kings Hockey (1-1 after day one) will face off against the Valley Wildcats in a 9 am game at the Sackville Arena.
The Sackville/East Hants-based club will wrap up their provincial tournament schedule at 2 pm against the Buccs, hoping they will be one of the teams in the final.
Meanwhile, the Armada will face the Thunder at 11 a.m. and then in the final game of the regulation portion of the provincials will face the Buccs at 6 p.m.
An Under-13 AAA Shootout competition will be held Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Fundy Thunder will wrap up provincial play at 11 a.m. against the Kings, and then at 4 p.m. will face the Wildcats.
Follow the results at: https://nsu16aaahl.ca
