SPRINGHILL - Down 2-0 to the Port Hawkesbury Strait Pirates in their best-of-seven Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League first round series, the Cumberland County Blues had one good reason to celebrate during last night’s practice at the Richard Calder Arena in Springhill – Blues captain Jordie Shaw was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
“It feels good to get the recognition,” said Shaw.
Blues coach Dave Hyatt said he couldn’t be happier for Shaw.
“ It’s always nice to see the boys get recognized with some individual awards, and with a kid like Jordie, who’s been here a long time, it’s great to see him get the league MVP award,” said Hyatt. “To see him develop as a hockey player over the years and to see how hard he’s worked in the gym and on the ice, and to see the hard work pay off and come to fruition is nice.”
Hyatt has coached Shaw throughout most of his NSJHL career and coached him in minor hockey as well.
“He’s a real energetic kid and you know what you’re getting every time he comes to the rink,” said Hyatt. “You see some kids who have good games and bad games but Jordie is ready to play every time he steps on the ice. As a coach he’s somebody you enjoy coaching.
“He has a strong work ethic and is a physical presence on the ice...A lot of players look up to Jordie with the way he plays.”
The Blues would like another good reason to celebrate – they would like to win Game-3 of the series tonight in Springhill.
“We spent time working on our penalty kill in practice,” said Hyatt. “That’s been an issue so far in the series. Port Hawkesbury has six power play goals so far, so if we’re going to have any success we’ll have to get that number down.”
Shaw said they need to get off to a good start.
“We need to have a good first period, score the first goal, and build off that,” he said.
The Blues lost 7-0 to the Pirates last Friday, but Shaw isn’t thinking about the loss.
“We’ve forgot about that. We’re just focusing on the next game,” he said.
Hyatt is looking forward to playing the Pirates at home for the first time in the series.
“Every game we’ve played at home has been a tight hockey game, so I think we’ll get a good effort out of the boys tonight,” said Hyatt.
Tonight’s game starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Richard Calder Arena in Springhill.
dmathieson@amherstdaily.com
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