The last full weekend of Avalon East regular season competition kicked off Friday past in CBS as the Southern Shore Breakers came to town to face the CB Blues in their final meeting. Both clubs had recently faced each other on the 5th of February, resulting in a shocking shootout win for the Breakers. Now, looking for revenge, the Blues-hosted rematch at the CBS Arena would go on to be equally as close as its predecessor. Despite scoring the first goal of the game, Nick Gosse’s single marker wouldn’t be enough for the Blues, as the Breakers raced back with 3 goals in the first period. Gosse would add a second to his belt and Kyle Tibbo contributed a goal as the matchup leveled out 2 minutes into the 2nd, but it again wasn’t enough as the game soon fell back into the hands of the Shore as 2 consecutive goals from Michael Chafe brought the score up to a 5-3 pedestal for the Breakers. Stunningly, 3 unanswered goals by the Blues followed to tilt the game in the favor of the hometown team, but once Michael Chafe added a 3rd marker to complete the hat trick, it was all Southern Shore. The visiting team would go on to put 2 more goals on the board, and extend their winning streak to 6 games, as a final score of 8-6 showed the hometown crowd out. 

Saturday night hockey would see all 6 clubs in action as 3 matchups were presented across Eastern Newfoundland. Kicking off at 7:30 PM in both Clarenville and Harbour Grace, the night was soon followed by an 8:00 PM contest in the Goulds. Outer Cove made the trip to Clarenville to start their weekend, taking on the Caribous in their 3rd meeting of the season. Walking into the matchup without a win since January 13th, the losing streak clearly showed for the Marines, as the Caribous put up 4 unanswered goals to take a swift 4-0 win. 4 assists from Liam Leonard led the way for Clarenville, while Kevin Reid contributed 2 goals, and AJ Whiffen added a shutout. The action continued in Harbour Grace as the hot-streak Southern Shore Breakers looked to complete their regular season with yet another win. The first-place visitors were however caught off-guard, as the hometown CeeBee Stars opened the game with 2 straight goals from Brett Shute and Kyle Tetford. The Breaker's own Logan Brothers and Michael Chafe would each get on the board to even the game out at 2 apiece, with the latter contributing his 4th goal of the weekend, but Jack Keough struck shorthanded to bring the game back into the grips of the home team. Breakers rookie Jesse Sutton would get up on the board with 2 minutes left in the second, but what the Shore didn’t know at that point, was that it would be the club’s last goal of the regular season. With a scoreless 3rd period, the game would go into overtime, before Brett Shute added his second of the night, just 49 seconds into the post-regulation period to give the CeeBees their 2nd win over the coastal club this season.

The night concluded in the Goulds as the St. John’s Caps hosted the CB Blues for their final matchup of the season. Coming off an impressive 8-4 verdict over the Outer Cove Marines on the 4th, the Caps looked confident, backed by former St. John’s Junior Cap Devon Parsons. Conception Bay, who up to that point had compiled 2 straight losses, were looking for some self-redemption. Unfortunately for the Blues, they fell victim to chasing the game, as Brandon Fewer opened the game for the Caps with a goal just over 11 minutes into the first. Goals from Michael Cole and Matthew Fewer would follow for the Caps, while the Blues struggled to find the back of the net just twice. Coming up short again, the Blues handed the Caps their 2nd win in a row, and extended their own streak to 3 games, as the night ended in a 3-2 decision for the home team.

The Outer Cove Marines finished their last road trip of the regular season Sunday afternoon, competing in a 3:30 PM rematch against Clarenville at the Eastlink Events Center. Despite thoughts that the Marines might give the Caribous a tougher contest, Marines fans were shocked when the ‘Bous stacked 9 goals onto the visiting team to take a magnificent 9-1 victory. In a match that would see the season debut of Outer Cove goalie Liam Buckingham, it was Brent Hatfield between the pipes for Clarenville who put on a stunning show, stopping 32 of 33 shots to hand the Caribous their 8th win of the season, and propel them to a tie for 4th place. 

Avalon East regular season action concludes this weekend with 4 matchups on the schedule, starting Friday night in Torbay as the Marines and CeeBee Stars clash in their last meeting of the regular season.