From pretty well the start of the 2017-18 St. John’s Junior Hockey League season, the Mount Pearl Blades have sat atop the standings. With a win tonight, the Blades can ensure they will finish there.
Mount Pearl takes on the Avalon Capitals 8:40 p.m. at the Goulds Arena and a victory would clinch first place for the Blades (21-1-1).
The math says that even if Mount Pearl is victorious tonight, the second-place CBR Renegades (17-4-3) could still conceivably finish the season with the same number of points as the Blades, but CBR still wouldn’t be able to catch up in the win column.
However, the Renegades do know they are locked into second place no matter what the following teams do through the remainder of the regular season, which ends in mid-February.
Each of the league’s eight teams plays 28 games — four against each of their opponents.
Mount Pearl has five games remaining after a 7-1 win over the Trinity-Placentia Flyers Sunday in Whitbourne, with Stephen Predham recording a hat trick for the winners.
In Sunday’s other SJJHL game, the Southern Shore Breakers picked up their second victory of the weekend, downing the Northeast Eagles 9-7 in a goal-fest at Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay. The Breakers had also doubled up the Flyers 6-3 Friday night in Mobile.
The St. John’s Junior Caps — on a bit of hot run — also won twice on the weekend, defeating Northeast 7-4 Saturday at Jack Byrne after beating the CBN Stars 4-2 Friday night at Bay Arena Bay Roberts.
