Hunter MacDonald’s quick hands and a half-turn to his backhand took Pictou goalie Jake Thorne by surprise as the Islanders forward scored to make it 4-0 in the second period of the U18 Major against Pictou County on Saturday.
November 26, 2025
-by Bill Dunphy
The Cape Breton West Islanders played a masterful game to hand Pictou County Weeks just their second loss this season in Saturday’s Nova Scotia U18 Major Hockey League game in Port Hood.
But as it often goes on the Sunday after a Saturday, they couldn’t get the sweep.
The Islanders took control of Saturday’s game from the outset, with Kieran MacDonald scoring on a play out of the corner where Cooper MacNeil and Will Chisholm were controlling the half-wall and corner. MacDonald got the puck at the bottom of the faceoff circle and snapped it home for the score at 1:26.
The Islanders carried that lead into the second frame, creating some chances and killing their second penalty of the game.
At 14:45, MacDonald made it 2-0 with Chisholm passing the puck into the slot where it almost got lost in his skates before he turned on it with a hard backhander past a surprised Jake Thorne in the Pictou County net.
A minute-and-a-half later, Colby Fleet picked up a dump-in by defenceman John Hugh MacInnis and dished it to Aiden MacDonald who made it 3-0 with a snap shot into the open side.
The Islanders killed another penalty late in the period and fed off that energy to score again at 19:21.
In a how-did-he-do-that goal, Hunter MacDonald was battling in the crease area and got the puck from Aiden MacDonald while he had his back to the net. Somehow, he found the puck with the heel of his stick and backhanded it past Thorne to make it 4-0 after 40 minutes. Sam Trenholm also picked up a helper on the goal.
After the break, the Islanders jumped to a 5-0 lead just 18 seconds in. Trenholm, on a pass from Aiden MacDonald, head-manned the puck to a streaking Fleet who crossed the Pictou blueline and wired a high shot past Thorne on the stick side.
Pictou pushed back shortly after, scoring a pair of goals a minute apart.
But that was all they would get as Islanders goaltender Jack Bell shut the door on the visitors, facing 30 shots for the 5-2 win.
Kieran MacDonald said Pictou might be in first place, but the Islander showed they are just as good as them.
“We had a great Monctonian and we built off that, coming out flying tonight. There’s no team that’s going to outwork us,” he said.
MacDonald said he got the monkey off his back in Moncton, realizing fewer penalties equals more goals.
“That first goal, I passed to Will and drove to the net. He hit me with the pass and I snapped it upstairs. The second goal? Right place at the right time,” he said.
“Will can make the plays and we’re working well together. They (Pictou) will be angry tomorrow, but we can be angry too.”
As it turned out, the Islanders weren’t angry enough, dropping a 3-1 decision to Pictou.
The visitors got the early lead in the first, but Hunter MacDonald tied it at 16:34 on a play with Fleet and Thomas MacEachern.
Islanders goaltender Leo Forance did his part in a scoreless second period, but Pictou took the lead at 7:09 of the third and scored a powerplay goal at 19:48 for the win.
The Islanders outshot Pictou 31-18.
The split kept the 9-10-0 Islanders firmly in fifth place, six points back of 12-4-0 Dartmouth and home ice in the first round of playoffs.
Pictou’s second loss allowed the 16-0-0 Halifax Macs to take over first place from the 15-2-2 Weeks.
The Islanders travel to Lunenburg on Saturday to play the 2-16-2 South Shore Mustangs.
On Sunday, they are in New Glasgow for a 1 p.m. tilt against Pictou.
