SPRINGHILL - The Cumberland County Blues lost 5-2 to the East Hants Penguins during Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League action Friday at the Richard Calder Arena in Springhill.
The Blues out-shot the Penguins 44-30 but a had a hard time getting the puck past Penguins goaltender Jason Ellis.
Blues coach Robert McLure was pleased with his team's shot total, and said they have improved a lot since last weekend.
"We simply missed too many scoring chances, and the team will only move ahead when all of the players pull together," said McLure.
The Penguins were up 1-0 after the first, and 3-1 after the second period, with Jesse Colborne scoring for the Blues off a pass from Tyler Gould.
The Penguins went up 4-1 in the third period, but with 5:44 left to play, Kevin Isherwood cut the Penguins lead in half off assists from Michael McLure and Aaron Crocker.
The Penguins scored an empty-netter with 29 seconds left in the game. Matt Caron started in goal for the Blues.
With the loss the Blues have a 0-3 start to the season.
Blues general manager Terry ‘Mouser' McManaman said the game was up for grabs but the Blues needed to finish their checks a lot more.
"We definitely can play with East Hants and we definitely need a total team effort from everyone before we can move forward as a team," he said.
The Blues travel to Lower Sackville tonight where goaltender Jessie Cox will get the start in nets against the Sackville Blazers.
The Blues play a home-and-home stand next weekend when they host the St. Margarets Bay Ducks Friday at 730 p.m., and then travel to St Margarets for a game on Saturday.
