By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Mount Pearl Blades didn’t go away easy in the St. John’s Junior Hockey League semifinal match against the CBN Stars but eventually succumbed to the defending champs in five games.
The deciding blow was a 6-5 loss on March 20, the third one-goal loss of the series. Mount Pearl never led in the deciding game, falling behind by two goals three times but clawing back to within one marker each time.
That Mount Pearl made it to the semi-finals was no real surprise; nearly every season the team is a strong contender for the championship. In recent years, the Blades have developed a great rivalry with the Stars, who have also become perennial playoff leaders.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us with CBN – they have a lot of grit and talent. They are a great hockey team,” said Leah Patterson, public relations officer with the Blades. “No shame for the boys, it was great, great hockey. All 40 players (on both teams) gave everything they had. It was a great series.”
Liam Noble, the Blades regular season points leader, had a pair of goals in the final game, as did Noah King. Lucas White had the other Mount Pearl goal. CBN outshot Mount Pearl 37-24.
Mount Pearl’s only victory in the series came at home in Game 2 with a 4-0 shutout posted by goalie Avery Loveless.
CBN won Game 1 by a score of 4-3, Game 3 by a score of 4-3 and Game 4 by a score of 5-2.
Mount Pearl advanced to the semifinal after sweeping the Conception Bay Renegades in three-straight games by scores of 5-4, 7-2 and 4-2.
“The boys were buzzing after the CBS series. That’s another great team on the other side, and to sweep them was an amazing team accomplishment,” Patterson said.
Mount Pearl finished third in league standings with a 17-9 record. Noble led the team in scoring with 60 points (17G, 43A). He registered seven points in the semifinal and was barely kept off the scoreboard in the Game 4 loss.
As is always the case, the Blades will have to say farewell to its overage players, which include captain Evan Wicks, assistant captain Braedan Walsh, Lucas White, Liam Guiney and both top goalies in Loveless and Adam Baggs.
“They all played hard and grew as individuals and helped us grow as a team on and off the ice,” said Patterson, adding the team showed great community leadership with events like minor hockey nights and also raising money for cancer.
Mount Pearl Blades who are aging out of the junior league this year include, from left: left to right there is Avery Loveless, Assistant Captain Braedy Walsh, Captain Evan Wicks, Liam Guiney, Lucas White and Adam Baggs. Photo courtesy of Snap Studio By Pam. E-mail snapbypam@gmail.com.