{"id":63604,"date":"2026-04-06T23:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=63604"},"modified":"2026-04-06T23:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:40:32","slug":"bearcats-capture-hollingsworth-cup-in-sold-out-game-7-thriller-over-east-hants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=63604","title":{"rendered":"Bearcats capture Hollingsworth Cup in sold-out Game 7 thriller over East Hants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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LANTZ:<\/strong> It was a <\/strong>finish that lived up to every bit of its Game 7 billing, as the Truro Mosaik Bearcats skated to a 3-1 victory over East Hants Senior Penguins to capture the inaugural Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League Hollingsworth Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They did so in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Keith Miller Arena in the East Hants Sportsplex in Lantz that brought playoff intensity from puck drop to final buzzer. The 50\/50 for the game was more than $15,000 with the winner taking $7,630.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backstopping the championship effort was goaltender Matt Welsh, who delivered a performance for the ages, turning aside 44 of 45 shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time and again, Welsh came up with key stops as East Hants pushed hard, particularly in the second and third periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly, I think my teammates made it pretty easy on me,\u201d Welsh said post-game. \u201cThey were clearing bodies and letting me see everything. It was a full team effort all season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cole Julian; Kelly Bent; and Daniel Perigo had the goals for Truro. Jimmy Scullion scored for the Pens.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A shot from an East Hants Penguin is fired at Matt Welsh in the Truro net. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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While the scoreboard reads 3-1, the margin could have looked very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Hants struck iron multiple times, four or five shots ringing off the goalposts behind Welsh, moments that could have changed the course of the game and the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penguins Captain Taylor Burke acknowledged just how close his team came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt could have been a different story,\u201d Burke said. \u201cBut that\u2019s hockey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes you get the bounces, sometimes you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Hants goalie Bryan Gillis stopped 28 of 31 pucks he faced. <\/p>\n\n\n

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East Hants’ Jimmy Scullion is pushed by a Truro defenceman into goalie Matt Welsh as he has the puck at his feet trying to create a scoring chance. Scullion would score on the play, which the Truro fans thought should not have counted but the referee had no doubt it was a good goal and so the game became tied 1-1 on the play. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Jimmy Scullion of the Penguins sees the loose puck and bats in in past a fallen Matt Welsh for East Hants’ lone tally of the game. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Truro defender Alex Anthony, of Shubenacadie, pushes an East Hants player out of the line of sight of goalie Matt Welsh. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Instead, the bounces \u2014 and the Cup \u2014 went Truro\u2019s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bearcats captain Colby Lanceleve said the victory was a testament to both the group and the league\u2019s strong inaugural season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVery excited for our group and for our fans,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis whole finals, it\u2019s been a packed barn, that\u2019s what you play for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atmosphere inside the rink was electric throughout the night and across the entire seven-game series, with fans from both communities packing the stands and creating a true playoff environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was awesome,\u201d Burke added. \u201cThe community behind us all year \u2014 it was a fun atmosphere to play in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Truro’s Denver Lynds gets some hugs from his biggest (littlest) supporters, his kids (we think) after the game 7 win. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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The tightly contested series, which many felt could have gone either way, ultimately came down to key saves, near-misses, and timely execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Truro, it ends with history: the first-ever Hollingsworth Cup champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For East Hants, despite the heartbreak, the message in the dressing room was one of pride and perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hell of an accomplishment to get here,\u201d Burke said. \u201cWe just have to keep our heads up and be ready to go next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if just one or two of those posts had been an inch lower, Game 7 might be remembered very differently.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A Truro player is chased by a Penguin behind their net during game 7 action. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Some very happy Truro Bearcats after their game 7 Hollingsworth Cup final win in Lantz. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Truro goalie Matt Welsh hoists the Hollingsworth Cup on the ice. (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Team picture time for the Truro Bearcats with the Hollingsworth Cup (front row, hard to see). (Healey photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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LANTZ: It was a finish that lived up to every bit of its Game 7 billing, as the Truro Mosaik Bearcats skated to a 3-1 victory over East Hants Senior Penguins to capture the inaugural Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League Hollingsworth Cup. They did so in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Keith Miller […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,21],"tags":[3560,196,9521,10619,595,9427,107],"class_list":["post-63604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","tag-champions","tag-east-hants","tag-east-hants-sr-penguins","tag-hollingsworth-cup","tag-lantz","tag-n-s-senior-hockey-league","tag-truro-bearcats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}