AMHERST – The ARHS Vikings overcame an early deficit with a four-goal first period en route to a 6-2 win over the CEC Cougars in Northern Nova Scotia High School Hockey League action here Friday.
After Liam McCully scored a power play goal just 3:46 into the opening period, the Vikings offence came to life scoring four times in just under eight minutes to build up a huge lead.
Andrew Skinner opened the onslaught beating Devon Holley less than a minute after McCully opened the scoring while MacKenzie Colford’s slapshot off the post less than two minutes later gave Amherst a lead it would never relinquish.
Kirk Hamilton scored twice on the same shift to give Amherst a 4-1 lead, making a nice move out front on his first goal and shoveling home a loose puck 15 seconds later for his second of the night.
Joel St. Peters’ long wrist shot from the point 1:17 into the second period extended the lead to 5-1, while McCully for Truro and Corey Hunter for Amherst traded third period goals.
Stephen Belyea had three assists in the game for Amherst, while Skinner had a pair. Michael Patterson, Mitchell Maltby and Matthew Beal added single assists.
Connor Hoeg recorded the win in goal, facing 12 shots. Holley and Sebastian Gibson shared the goaltending duties for CEC. They faced 22 shots.
Amherst returns to action on Friday when they travel to Sackville for an exhibition game against the Tantramar High Titans. On Sunday, the Vikings host the Harrison Trimble Trojans of Moncton at 4 p.m. at the Amherst Stadium.
Prior to Friday’s game, the Vikings held a moment of silence in honour of the two Eastern Shore parents who were killed in a traffic accident following last Saturday’s game between the two teams in Kingston.
dcole@amhersdaily.com
