TRURO, N.S.
Friday night’s tilt against the Summerside Western Capitals would have to qualify as a character-builder for the Truro Bearcats.
In a see-saw battle, start to finish, team captain Campbell Pickard cashed in a rebound with just 31 seconds to play in the third, lifting the Bearcats to a 5-4 Maritime Hockey League victory over the Caps.
The dramatic finish at the RECC came just one night after Truro posted an important 2-1 shootout win over the South Shore Lumberjacks in Bridgewater. And frankly, at this point of the season, every outing for the Bearcats shapes up as important.
Heading into Sunday’s league action, Truro (16-16-0-1) was fourth in the Eastlink South Division with 33 points, just one up on the Pictou County Weeks Crushers (14-15-2-2) with 32. Valley Wildcats (13-21-1-1) have faded a bit recently and sit in sixth with 28 points.
Meanwhile, in the division’s upper echelon, the Amherst Ramblers (18-5-5-5) were showing no signs of letting up in their charge as they sat third with 46 points, just three back of division leader Yarmouth Mariners (24-10-1-0). The Lumberjacks (22-10-2-2) were second with 48 points.
The Bearcats have been peppering opposing goalies of late. Dylan Burton opened the scoring Friday on the power play at 9:07, with Truro’s 14th shot on net. To that point, the Caps had just one, though Sebastien Cormier rang one off the crossbar.
League-leading scorer TJ Shea pulled Summerside even and Kallum Muirhead’s power-play marker with 1:03 remaining in the first gave the Caps a 2-1 lead.
There were some tense moments when Bearcat Dan Little was slammed heavily into the boards and needed help leaving the ice. He was later reported to be alright.
In the second, Pickard scored a power-play marker, but Shea restored the Caps one-goal lead on a short-handed effort. Midway through the period though, Truro’s Taylor Read found the mark leaving the teams tied at 3-3 and setting the stage for a dramatic third.
It was Muirhead giving the Caps a 4-3 lead with eight minutes remaining, but the Bearcats were quick to counter, as Cameron MacLeod scored at 12:56 on a solo effort, tying the teams again.
Morgan MacDonald took a high sticking penalty just past the 18-minute mark, and Pickard took advantage with his second of the night, from Karter Renouf and Riley Baggs, icing the 5-4 win.
The Bearcats pelted Caps’ netminder Alex Bishop with 42 shots while Truro’s Kevin Resop turned aside 18 of 22 for the win.
Next action for the Bearcats is Friday when they travel to play the Lumberjacks in a 7 p.m. matchup. Sunday, they are in Amherst to face the Ramblers in a 2 p.m. matinee.
Truro’s next home game isn’t until Friday, Feb. 2 when they entertain the Miramichi Timberwolves for a 7 p.m. game at the RECC.
