By Lawrence Powell
Spectator
NovaNewsNow.com
Local hockey fans have been missing out on some of the best action the sport has to offer, but Steve Clayton of Bridgetown hopes that will all change here in Annapolis County – and maybe right across the province.
Clayton, synonymous with the word ‘hockey’ in Bridgetown, has put together a local Senior C team and has already lined up exhibition play against Greenwood, Kentville, and Musquodoboit Harbour. He hopes a provincial league will develop as interest spreads and crowds see the level of play typical from twentysomething skaters, many fresh out of Junior or university hockey.
Already the Bridgetown Townies have been hitting the ice for practices, and Clayton is hoping they’ll have their legs by Saturday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. when they host the CFB Greenwood Bombers at the Bridgetown rink.
Clayton said that for almost a decade, Senior hockey has been dead in Nova Scotia, but its demise has left a big gap for players in the 21 to 30 age bracket. They’re too old for Junior and not old enough for Oldtimers.
Players who want to keep in the game gravitate to men’s recreation leagues – and there are dozens of teams across the province. Clayton hopes the cream from those teams will suit up for Senior C, a level of hockey that is known to pack arenas and create a buzz about the sport.
That the local Bridgetown Townies team will be able to compete is not in question.
“Four or five years ago we put a team together and played in Truro at their Senior C hockey tournament,” said Clayton. “Some of the teams entered were from Halifax, Cape Breton, Dartmouth, and the host Truro team. We ended up winning the Senior C banner.”
That tournament was put on by Hockey Nova Scotia and Molson’s Brewery.
A few years later, Clayton was contacted to see if he would try to get a Senior league going. He had just retired from the Valley Keiths of the Junior C league and at the time wasn’t interested.
“Since then, because of some local people, I became interested in trying to get something started,” he said. “There seems to be a lot of players out there who don’t have a place to play.”
Some local businesses stepped forward with some funds to get the thing going, and Clayton has been on the phone gauging the climate for Senior C.
“There’s strong interest from throughout the province,” he said. “Truro, Musquodoboit Harbour, Kentville, CFB Greenwood, Barrington, Digby, and Bridgetown have all shown interest.”
Clayton has also talked with Hockey Nova Scotia and hopes to meet with their officials to see what they might be able to put together regarding insurance and a league.
“I have expressed to them that I would be very interested in hosting provincial playdowns in Bridgetown at the end of the hockey season if things were to get going.”
Clayton said he’s been working out some details and has suggested that games would consist of three 15-minute stop-time periods with flooding between each period. No carded or signed players would be eligible, and play would follow gentlemen’s rules of no body checking.
While some fans might object to the lack of contact, Clayton said it makes for a fast-paced, fluid game of skill that literally has fans on the edge of their seats.
Besides Saturday’s 8 p.m. game against Greenwood, Clayton has lined up a November 14 contest against Kentville, and a game against Musquodoboit Harbour November 21. Both of those games are also at 8 p.m. in Bridgetown.
“We want to play a bunch of exhibition games – home and home series – with interested teams to see how things go,” said Clayton.
THE TOWNIES
Players: Scott Toole (goal), Jacob Deboer (goal), Ryan Boyd, Ryan Chipman, Chad Graves, Kory Taylor, Lew Robicheau, Rick Robicheau, Ben McNeil, Phillip Agombar, Robbie Agombar, Adam Verette, Clinton Lewis, Kyle Silver, Tim Clayton, Joey Robicheau, Nathan Veinot, Paul Burke, Tyson Cameron.
GM/Coach: Steve Clayton
Assitant coaches: Raymond Toole and Jeff Bishop.
Trainer: Glenn Clayton
