Netminder Shawn "The Rook" Jeffrey is seen here watching Jeremy Sheppard, who had the lone Pirate goal last Friday night, move the puck from behind the Pirate net.

PORT HAWKESBURY- The Junior Pirates have dropped the Antigonish Bulldogs to advance to the second round of the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League (NSJHL) playoffs.
“It was a pretty short series but a tough one,” said Pirate coach Brian Tracey, during a phone chat with The Reporter last Monday morning.
“You take out that one game that didn’t fit, and all the other games were pretty close. Last night it was 4-1 going into the third period. They scored a couple of quick ones - one on the power play and one right after it - and suddenly it was 4-3 for the last ten minutes.”
Despite pressure late in the game, the Pirates skated to a 5-3 win to clinch the series in five games.
The one game the Bulldogs won came last Friday night at the Civic Center, with Jeremy Sheppard chipping in the Strait’s only goal in a 3-1 final. Jimmy MacInnis had two goals for the Bulldogs, one on the power play and one empty netter. Bulldog Stewart MacDougall also found the back of the net on the power play.
The Friday encounter once again saw Kyle Williamson start for the ‘Dogs while Shawn Jeffrey was in net for the Strait. Neither goalie was all that busy, as the Pirates outshot their visitors 17-16.
The netminders both saw more action on Sunday, coach Tracey said. The bench boss took his hat off to Williamson, who played a mean second period on Sunday. Were it not for a few magic tricks on Williamson’s behalf, Tracey said, the Pirates might have been leading by five or six goals going into the third, eliminating the possibility of the ‘Dogs playing catch-up.
And Shawn Jeffrey, said Tracey, was solid for the Pirates ever since he relieved Alex Drake in the first period of the first game. (Jeffrey has been starting for the Strait ever since.)
“The anchor of the whole series was a 16-year-old kid - the guys call him ‘Rook,’” said Tracey. “He has no weakness. Most goals in the series, he just had no chance on. What a job for him to come in and just run with it.”
On Sunday, leading the scoring for the Pirates was K.J. MacNeil, who had both the Strait’s first goal and an empty netter. Also finding the mesh were Evan Sparling, Brandon Mullins, and Johnny Carabin.
Also playing a big factor in the Sunday game, said Tracey, was the Strait’s penalty killing unit, made up of players like Graham DeCoste, K.J. MacNeil, Thomas Bruton, Alex Porter, Devin Landry, and Matt Sode.
The Pirates won the first three games by scores of 6-5, 8-1, and 3-2. (Obviously, the 8-1 blowout was the game Tracey designated as ‘the one that didn’t fit.’)
On a sour note, Pirate captain Kyle MacIntosh was unable to play on Sunday as a result of a collision he suffered during game four. It’s questionable the captain will be back for the Strait’s upcoming series against Cumberland. Trevor Wood is also out with an injury.
But on the positive side, said Tracey, the Pirates have the depth to roll four lines and play every defensemen. Having that depth helps keep the guys fresh - which sure helps in overtime games and even late in third periods.
There’s also a psychological advantage to having such depth, the coach pointed out.
“Everybody was part of it [beating Antigonish],” Tracey said. “The guys feel good about that. There weren’t guys sitting on the bench and not playing. Everyone played at least four or five shifts a period. It’s nice to know you have a team where everyone can play.”
With the Cumberland County Blues waiting to face the Strait, any advantages - psychological or otherwise - may pay hefty dividends.
The Blues were the number one team in the NSJHL regular season and recently dropped the Pictou Scotians in four straight games to sweep their first round series.
“We’re thinking it’ll be a real good series,” said Tracey. “We’ve played them tough all year, we’ve been real close with them all year, and we feel we can beat team. They’re very good: very skilled up front, deep, solid on the backend, and their goaltending is some of the best in the league.
“We’re the underdogs, but we’ve beaten them twice late in the season. We had three one-goal games besides that, and one game we lost 7-4 with 11 skaters. And we’ve been playing our best hockey this last month.”
Beating the Bulldogs marks the first time since entering the Port Hawkesbury Civic Center that the Strait has made it out of the first round of the NSJHL post-season.