The Halifax Lions are looking to stop the Pictou County Weeks Crushers’ momentum in its tracks.
The Lions are facing elimination tonight at 7 p.m. at the Forum when they host the Crushers in Game 6 of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League’s Bent Division best-of-seven semifinal.
The Crushers have seized control of the series with back-to-back wins, scoring the game-tying goal with eight seconds to go in Game 4 before winning in double-overtime and then blasting the Lions 7-2 in Game 5 in New Glasgow on Sunday.
“It just sort of unravelled,” Lions head coach Troy Ryan said. “Emotionally you’re dejected by (losing in Game 4) and we don’t have a whole lot of guys who have been through it.
“Having said that, I think we just rebound and give it one last kick at the can.”
The Lions are a young team that has been rebuilding since relocating from Antigonish in 2008. With Ryan at the helm, they turned things around this season, going 22-24-4, finishing seven points behind the Crushers.
“For a young team, we’re definitely getting some experience out of this — for sure,” Ryan said. “To be honest, I think we’re surprising some people just being in the series to the extent that we’ve been in it. We’ve had some opportunities to win it and we let them slip away.”
Stuart Lenehan leads the Lions with nine points through five games, tied for fourth in the MJAHL, while Kody Blois is averaging 41 saves per game, more than any other goaltender in the league.
