After a whirlwind Spring ’22 which saw some of the VHG boys touch down in Charlottetown, Montreal, and Moncton (with HPP sandwiched in between) in the past 4 weeks, we now have some free time to divulge into the Beast of the East tournament that took place May 12-15 in Moncton, NB! Let us dance!
Beast of the East Tournament Review
Before we kick off this segment, we would like to thank Andrews Hockey Growth for putting off this highly-scouted event at the world-class Dieppe UNIPlex. The tournament ran smoothly, the hockey was fast and the little championship game ‘lights out, tunes going, team intros’ a la Major Junior Hockey was a nice touch.
On the ’08 side of the biscuit, Ryan Bessey, Andrew Marshall and company trailed by 2 late in the 3rd but came back to tie the game in regulation and lose in the shootout. Caylen Blake went off in this game, showcasing his blazing sped en route to a 4 goal performance. Blake – the Corner Brook, NL native – is big by ’08 standards and has a scorers touch, which I’m sure caught the eye of some programs.
The ’08s drove down a similar road in game 2 vs NS Blue, but this time could not complete the comeback as they dropped an 8-6 decision with an empty netter. 6 different names found the back of the net in this game, with the line of Sahajpal-Percy-Trainor carrying the load offensively. Saturday’s morning game was against Team NB, one which the coaching staff emphasized as an important game to potentially avoid a date with NS Blue in the cross-overs. However, the VHG ’08s could not find their stride on the big ‘UNI’ ice pad and lost 2-1. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot in this game” exclaimed head coach Ryan Bessey. “We had a couple of 2v1’s where we went offside, and numerous power plays where we kind of gave them momentum because we didn’t generate enough chances”.
A loss against NB forced a date with the NS Blue team in the cross-overs, a game which saw the scoreboard read 8-4 at the final buzzer. Liam Nash had a strong showing for the ’08’s in this game, notching his first-ever mainland hat trick but it was not enough on this night. Moving forward, coach Andrew Marshall believes that the ’08’s need two things – size, and more size. “Compared to teams like NS Blue, we were kind of small and at this level, it can be a boys vs men scenario. I think there’s a lot of talent on this team, it’s just a matter of time before some uber-talented players on this roster sprout up”
Size is not something that the ’07 group lacks. The monstrous age group arrived in Moncton with championship aspirations, and came awfully close to achieving those aspirations on Sunday. Team NB were first on the docket in this tournament; a jittery start was thwarted by the stellar play of Carter ‘C.A’ Arnold. Arnold will be a highly sought after goaltender in the upcoming U18 AAA first year draft, especially with Jack Carter heading to Stanstead this fall (congrats Jack). Arnold’s play, coupled with a nice dish from Noah Boland to Ben O’Brien, provided VHG with a lead heading into Period 2. The ’07s found their footing the rest of the way, and took a 3-1 lead into the back half of the final frame. However, a PP marker and a goal with the extra attacker on the ice with 27 seconds to go took the game into a shootout. O’Brien and Peddigrew – 2 of the 3 goal scorers in this game – failed to score on the choppy ice and the Newfs were off to an 0-1-1 start.
Donald Hickey took the ball in goal in the late game, a game which saw NL defeat Atlantic by a wide margin. Hockey – the OHA standout – recorded a shutout and made a highlight reel stop late in the game to preserve the goose egg. Hickey’s outstretched arm came between a back door one-time shot and the mesh, a save that only an elite athlete could make.
Nova Scotia were on tap in Game 3 of the event on Saturday morning, and the ’07 boys came out with guns blazing. By the time the opening buzzer sounded, the gold shirts had a 3-0 lead and were taking the play to the Nova Scotian’s. “We set the tone early with some big bumps, and scoring first against a team like Nova Scotia – a perennial powerhouse – gives you a lot of confidence” said Coach Scottie Marshall. Despite playing virtually the entire tournament with 5 defenceman, the D core was rock solid in this game and chipped in offensively with a goal from the Tri-Com Thunder veteran Ethan Collins. Russell Monk earned the game puck with his determined play and commitment to playing an energy role for the NL squad.
The victory on Saturday morning put the NL’ers in first place after round robin play, forcing a date with the winless Team Atlantic. Atlantic goaltender Jacob Duff was next to unbeatable in this game, but a Jabez Seymour strip and snipe along with 2 point shot deflections forced the gold jerseys into the finals. “Against great goalies you have to get traffic in front of them and that’s what we did in the second half of this game. There’s no way (Duff) saw the final 2 goals until they were in the back of the net” exclaimed coach Scottie Marshall after the game.
New Brunswick dusted their cross-over opponent, so a re-match was set for Sunday afternoon. Unlike the first game of the tournament, NL held most of the play against NB in the first period but found themselves down by 1 to start the second, and down by 2 halfway through the second. Noah Boland put the ’07s on the board with a nice individual effort, but it wasn’t long before NB restored the 2 goal advantage with a goal of their own. NB potted a goal on the power play early in period 3, but a special effort by Carter Bromley led to a nice finish by Ty Peddigrew to get the golds back within striking distance at 4-2. Peddigrew was not done on this day, as the tournament’s leading scorer went around a New Brunswick defenceman like a hoop around a barrel and potted his second of the night with just under 5 minutes to play. Unfortunately for the gold tops, this is as close as they would come to tying the game as Sam Quimper and company closed the book on their season.
For more information on the tournament, players, stats or standings please visit www.beastoftheeast.ca . For game tapes, please check out our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/visionhockeygroup . For player inquiries, please contact Andrew Pearcey via e-mail at ap@vhghockey.ca
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