Old Foes Battle For The Top Prize

The 2013-2014 NSEMMHL season comes to a close with the league’s most recognizable feud. Subways vs. Macs, Titans vs. Ice Dawgs, Newbridge Academy Gladiators vs. Halifax McDonalds; the names change but it always comes back to a classic Halifax vs. Dartmouth showdown. As the two most decorated teams in the league they have exchanged blows for decades. The rivalry has been dubbed “The Battle of the Bridges” but in so many ways it’s more than that now. Each team has had a successful season and would like nothing else but to cap it off with the League Championship.
 

New Look: 
The off season saw drastic changes to the look of both clubs on and off the ice. With the new sponsorship from Newbridge Academy, Dartmouth parted ways with its traditional blue and yellow apparel to take on a modern gold and maroon coloured look. Despite a fresh look in 2012/13, Halifax returned to the iconic “Golden Arches” when McDonalds returned as the title sponsor. It’s interesting to note that Halifax and Dartmouth are the only two teams in the league who did a complete face lift in their look this season.


Coaching:
New faces dawned both benches at the start of this season. Newbridge Academy went with the veteran experience of Steve Crowell who has had success with the Cole Harbour program for several years before taking a short hiatus. The Gladiators also have a familiar face in Assistant Coach Brian Tomie who spent several seasons with the Halifax club before making the jump across the harbour in the off season. The McDonalds took a page from their past with the hiring of former player turned coach Tim Boyce. A relatively new coach to Major Midget Tim has also spent some time with the South Shore Mustangs. Knowing the passion and pride it takes to be a Mac, Tim assembled a coaching staff of Macs Alumni. Tim Boyce, Mike Fougere, Tony McCarthy, Darrell Jerrett and Timmy Walsh all know what it takes to win. They teach the systems that have been passed on to them and they know firsthand what it takes to be successful in this league.


Goaltending:
Both teams have scoring power but the pace of the series could easily be determined on the play of the goaltenders. Fitzpatrick has started 7 games so far this post season for the Gladiators and posts a 5-2 record with 1 shutout and a goals against average of 2.53. The goaltending duties for the McDonalds have be mostly split up to this point. Reilly Pickard has had 5 starts so far and while he doesn’t have a winning record has recorded a shutout and holds a very impressive goals against average of 1.98. As we found out in the IceJam, when motivated he’s one to take very seriously in big game situations. Justin Ritcey comes to the table with the most post season experience. As part of the Valley Wildcats last season he helped back-stop the team to the TELUS Cup National Championships. Ritcey is currently a perfect 7-0 this post season with 2 shutouts and an incredible goals against average of 1.29. He has only allowed 1 goal in his past 3 starts.
 
 
Goal Scoring:
Both teams have depth in their lines and neither has  a shortage of fire power. It should be no surprise that 10 of the top 15 players with points so far are members of each team. The Gladiator’s Jesse Hamer currently leads the league in points but Ethan Marsh of the Macs is not far behind. The usual go-to players of Dillon Boucher and Justin Doiron make up the list but it’s Shawn Hubley who has really come into his own this post  season. Usually a team grinder, Shawn has traded in PIM’s for Points and it’s one of the contributing factors that has gotten the team this far.
 
 
The Breakdown:
The McDonalds finished on top of the NSEMMHL regular season standings. They’ve won the season series with every team in the league except for one, Newbridge Academy. The Gladiators hold a 3-1 record over the McDonalds this regular season with each team exchanging a win in OT. The most notable win came on October 20^th when the Gladiators ended the 13-game win streak of the McDonalds.
 
 
The series opens Saturday night at 7pm in the Halifax Forum. Eastlink TV will be there with their HD cameras to broadcast Game 1 LIVE across the province. If you are new to Major Midget hockey or an old fan this is the series to watch. Pride runs high in both clubs, each with a passion to win. With a championship banner on the line and tons of bragging rights against your arch rival neither team will likely hold anything back. The quest to be the best starts now.
 
 
Here’s the released schedule for the NSEMMHL Finals
 
Game 1 - Sat Mar 15 Newbridge Academy 0 Hfx 7
Game 2 - Sun Mar 16 Newbridge Academy 2 Hfx 1
Game 3 – Sat Mar 22 Hfx 5 Newbridge 4 (2OT)
Game 4 – Sun Mar 23 Hfx 5 Newbridge 4 (1OT)
Game 5 – Tues Mar 25, 7:30pm - Civic Centre

Game 6 – Fri Mar 28, 6pm - Dartmouth Sportsplex*
Game 7 – in Halifax TBD*

* if necessary