Title a sweet one for Sill

TRURO - When life throws you lemons, you have to make lemonade.

That may or may not be the motto Truro Bearcats forward Zach Sill lives by, but it sure seems like it after the season he's had thus far on his way to becoming the Maritime Junior A Hockey League's playoff MVP.

The 18-year-old Birch Hill resident started the season with the University of Maine Black Bears, but couldn't afford to stay after the men's NCAA Division 1 squad suspended him and a teammate for the remainder of the spring semester for several off ice incidents and most of the remaining three years of his scholarship had been taken away.

It was a dark time for the six foot, 187 pounder.

"I didn't know what was going to happen," he said. "But (coach) Shawn (Evans) was there for me and gave me an opportunity to play and everything got going on the right track."

Sill had played with the Bearcats a season earlier and Evans was eager to get his hands back on the smooth skating, hard-working forward. But Evans said there was something different about Sill when he returned home in mid January.

"He wasn't quite the Zach that I know and love," he said. "It took a little while for him to get his swagger back."

Being back home with his family and back in a familiar dressing room helped Sill find himself and that swagger again.

"Living at home and hanging out with the guys really helped," Sill said. "It really helped me focus on hockey and family instead of that other stuff."

Sill notched one point in six regular season games with the Bearcats, but it was when the playoffs started that he really started to stand tall on a team full of talent.

Sill had five goals and five assists in 13 postseason contests, including one assist in Tuesday's championship win in Summerside. But Evans said Sill deserves to be MVP for more than just point totals.

"Sometimes it's not about the top scorer or who made the most saves," he said. "Sometimes you've got to look deeper than the stats. He gives our team more confidence. He's the type of player everyone on the team respects. He's a rare breed of hockey player."

The adversity has made being a contributing member of a title winning team that much more sweeter for Sill, who's modesty was clear when asked about being MVP.

"It's a team effort," he said. "Darcy (Stewart) could have been picked. He had an unbelievable playoffs."

There's no doubt Sill will continue his strong play when the Bearcats move on to the Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian Junior A Championship in Saint-Jerome, Que., April 25 to 29 and into the future as he tries to earn a spot with the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior A Hockey League next season.

"We all go through adversity in life," Evans said. "He went through some adversity but he's a character kid and he's got a bright future."



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