It might be a good idea to circle Nov. 30 on your calendar, and not just if you are one of those expecting an end-of-the-month cheque.
It’s also when the Mount Pearl Blades and Conception Bay Regional Renegades, the top two teams in the Mary Brown’s St. John’s Junior Hockey, have their next matchup.
Obviously, records and standing positions can change between now at that Saturday-night get-together at the Conception Bay South Arena, but given how their game this past Sunday went down, it will probably be worth watching, no matter what transpires in the next 18 days.
On Sunday, at the Glacier in Mount Pearl, in their first matchup since squaring off in a hard-fought, closely contested, too-the-limit 2018-19 final, the defending champion Renegades defeated the Blades 6-3 and in doing so, handed Mount Pearl its first regulation-time loss of this season.
After faced off in the league final the past two seasons (Mount Pearl won in 2018), this is a true rivalry. And it showed Sunday, when there was a lot of bad blood and resulting penance, with a total of 22 minors — 13 to the Renegades nine to the Blades — plus two majors, two misconducts and one game misconduct, all of which went to Mount Pearl.
With all that penalty time came a lot of power-plays and that proved to be the difference,
The Blades were leading 2-1 midway through the second period, but the Blades took the lead by the end of the middle frame , then put the game away with three power-play goals in the third.
Despite the setback, Mount Pearl remains in first place, a point up on CBR, and with a game in hand.
However, the renegades can take over top spot with a victory tonight in Paradise against the winless Warriors. Game time is 7 p.m.
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