Junior Miners Open Playoffs Against Bulldogs

“All year, we broke up each month into mini playoff series and we won every playoff series each month in the regular season,” said Glace Bay bench boss Kent Verbeski. “We’ve preached all year small steps and goals, and it’s got us first in the province. We’re very proud of our players for winning the regular season in Nova Scotia, but that being said, playoffs are a new season and regular season stats and points mean nothing now.”

Glace Bay has won three of four meetings with the Bulldogs this season, but two of those games were decided by a goal. One of those results was a 4-3 shootout victory for Antigonish on Nov. 30 at the Antigonish Arena, so the Junior Miners know that despite a 30-point discrepancy in the standings, they’ll be in for a fight.

“They’re definitely no pushover,” said Verbeski. “They’re very well coached and they’re going to bring it from (players) one to 20, for 60 minutes, no matter if they’re up, down or tied. It’s going to be a battle, tooth and nail.”

The Junior Miners have been strong from the net out this season. That includes the effective tandem of Jacob McKendry and Scott MacDonald. McKendry finished with the best goals-against average (2.28), tied for the best save percentage (.920) and boasted a record of 17-5 with a league-leading two shutouts. MacDonald finished with a 9-3 mark, a 3.28 GAA and a .890 save percentage with one shutout.

Up front, Jordan Langlois was only one point shy of catching Brandon Verge of the Pictou County Scotians for the league’s scoring title. He scored 28 goals and added 33 assists for 61 points.

“With Jordan Langlois, R.J. Barrett, Chris Ross, Tyler Pyke — it just goes on and on,” said Verbeski. “We have one of the best power plays in the league for sure. We need our offensive guys be our go-to guys in playoffs, it’s no secret.”