The two local teams in the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League are on home ice for playoff action.
The Strait Pirates host the Miners in game two of their best-of-seven, Sid Rowe Division semi-final at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.
The Miners won the opening game in the best-of-seven, first-round series 9-1 in Membertou Wednesday night.
The Antigonish Bulldogs open their Sid Rowe semi-final against the Eskasoni Eagles at the Antigonish Arena.
The Bulldogs (25-6-1), who won back-to-back games and three of their last four to close out the regular season, finished in top spot in the six-team Sid Rowe Division- and the entire 12-team league- with 51 points; the Eagles (12-19-1) were fourth in the division with 25 points.
Antigonish won three of the four games in the season series between the teams.
Both games get underway at 7:30 p.m.
The Pirates and Bulldogs hit the road for the next games in their respective series Saturday night.
The Panthers return home for game three in their Nova Scotia Female Midget AAA Hockey League semi-final against Halifax.
The teams split the first two games in the best-of-five, first-round series in Bedford Feb. 22-23.
Game time in Membertou is 7:30 p.m.
The winner will have a chance to finish off the series in game four in Membertou Saturday afternoon.
The Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals travel to Trenton to try to sweep their Northumberland Region final series against the North Nova Gryphons.
The Royals won the opening game of the best-of-three, regional final 4-1 in Antigonish Wednesday night.
Game time is 7 p.m.
A win sends Dr. J.H. Gillis to provincials; a loss forces a third and deciding game in the series.
The Dalbrae Dragons and Doctor J.H. Gillis Royals are taking part in the NSSAF Div. 2 girls hockey championship in Mabou.
The Royals play West Kings in the tournament opener at 1 p.m.; the Dragons play the winner of that game at 6 p.m.
The six teams are divided into two groups; they play a round-robin within their group, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals Saturday night.
The championship game is Sunday; you can find the full schedule here.
The Strait Richmond Pirates are hosting the midget A division of the Cape Breton Cup at the Richmond Arena in Louisdale.
Five teams, including the Cape Breton West Islanders, are taking part.
Action gets underway at 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Cape Breton West Islanders are hosting the bantam AA division at the Al MacInnis Sports Centre in Port Hood.
The Islanders play their first game against the Strait Richmond Pirates, the only other local team competing, at 2:30 p.m.
The semi-final and championship games are Sunday.
The province’s two Quebec Major Junior Hockey League teams are on the road.
The Cape Breton Eagles visit the Charlottetown Islanders at 7:30 p.m.
The Eagles (37-17-3), winners of back-to-back games and three of the last four, are fourth in the 10-team Eastern Conference with 77 points, a point behind Rimouski for third, and 14 points ahead of the sixth-place Islanders (29-25-5).
The teams have split the first six games in their nine-game season series.
Cape Breton wraps up the weekend road trip in Saint John Saturday night.
The Halifax Mooseheads play their second game in a four-game road trip in Rimouski against River Denys’ Colten Ellis and the Oceanic at 8:30 p.m.
The Mooseheads (19-34-4), who have lost three straight games and 12 of their last 13, are second-last in the East- and the entire 18-team league- with 42 points, nine points behind Quebec for eighth, and 11 points ahead of last-place Acadie-Bathurst; the Oceanic (35-16-8) are third in the division with 78 points.
Ellis has a 16-9 record with a 2.38 goals against average and .906 save percentage in 26 games for Rimouski in the 2019-20 season.
It’s the second and final regular season game between the teams; Halifax won the first 1-0 at home Feb. 20.
The Mooseheads are in Quebec Saturday night, then finish off their road trip in Shawinigan Sunday night.
