CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – The Charlottetown Junior Islanders meet the Fredericton Royals in a doubleheader today at noon at Memorial Field in New Brunswick Junior Baseball League play.
The Islanders (8-10) can score runs with the likes of hard-hitting Chasse Gallant and Kyle Pinksen plus a solid supporting cast of Josh Myers, Ryne MacIsaac and Connor McGregor. The pitching staff includes Porter Smith, Brett Hicken, Chandler LaPorte and league ERA leader Johnny Arsenault
This is your chance to get out and see many of the Maritime’s best juniors in action.
In Major League Baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays are in Boston this week prior to the all-star break.
Jays starter J.A. Happ is the lone Toronto player on the all-star squad but it’s likely he’ll be shipped to a contender like the New York Yankees before the end of this month. The Yankees have loads of talent on the farm, have depth in their line-up for such a transaction and plenty of cash for a luxury tax.
The Boston Red Sox and Yankees are 1-2 in the East with the second-place club playing a sudden-death playoff game. First place is extremely important.
Hockey
On the local hockey front, Ross Johnston, the least-heralded NHLer ever in this region, signed a four-year deal with the New York Islanders earlier this week and that’s great news for Ross and his family.
This guy has the right work ethic and the desire to be a useful player for the Islanders who, although they lost all-star John Tavares, have added two gritty players from the Leafs in Matt Martin and Leo Komarov. Add Johnston to the line-up, plus Summerside’s Noah Dobson who may be NHL-ready right now, and the Islanders will have plenty of fan support from P.E.I.
And last but not least, the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside Celebrity Dinner goes Monday night at the Wellness Centre in Summerside. It should be a terrific show. I’m going to try and buy one of those Gerard Gallant chairs at the auction, but I doubt either of the two will leave Prince County.
Condolences
Ralph (Boo) Shepherd is not a familiar name in Maritime sporting circles these days nor has it been for a long, long time. When it comes to outstanding hockey defencemen born and raised on this little Island, Shepherd will always be mentioned among the best.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ralph was a standout defenceman with those great Amherst Ramblers Maritime senior championship clubs with guys like Alain (Boom Boom) Caron, Red Mullins, Shermie White, Lou Kiley, Dick Van Snick and Frank Dorrington, who had the misfortune of meeting the Quebec senior champions in Allan Cup play. That was the six-team NHL era and the Quebec senior Aces had a guy named Jean Beliveau among others in their line-up.
Boo was also a top-notch trainer-caretaker in the harness racing game. He worked for Roach MacGregor in the summer months looking after horses like the Hall of Famer Bay State Pat, Jerry Hal, the great Dr Harry C and a host of good horses in Foxboro for Roach like Papa, the trotters Suspension and L G Diplomat.
In a time when meticulous caretakers like Richard Bradley, Dee Arsenault, Buddy Shepherd and Wally McInnis were on the go, Boo was as good as they get. Caretakers like those are hard to find especially in this day and age. Boo was a regular at the race track, seldom missing a card, but in recent months he was in poor health. Shepherd died on July 5.
Harness racing
The $25,000 Governor’s Plate goes tonight in Summerside and Euchred from the rail will be tough to beat.
Post position in a big race on a half-mile track is everything and with Do Over Hanover and the Walter Simmons-owned In Spades on the outside, the pace could be wicked. If that happens, Ken Arsenault and Czar Seelster could be the surprise horse. Tonight’s is a 16-dash card.
The Meadaowlands Pace goes tonight at The Big M and, with two favourites out of the race, this classic is up for grabs. Blake MacIntosh’s Courtly Choice, Louie Philippe Roy’s Jimmy Freight or Doug MacNair’s Stay Hungry, all Canadian connections, will be heavily backed at the windows.
At Yonkers, New York, tonight Mark MacDonald handles Hickfromfrenchlick for trainer Ray Schnittker in the $100,000 Lawrence B. Sheppard Pace for two-year-olds.
Charlottetown’s Harry Poulton sent out a pair of colts from his The Stable.Ca group in the Ontario gold division Thursday, each going for $68,000, and they looked terrific. Sunshine’s Finest (James MacDonald) was parked past the opening panel in 27 yet battled right to the end with Stag Party (Doug MacNair), second in 1:52:1. In the other division, Anthony MacDonald hustled Maintenance Man to the front and cut the fractions, third in 1:52:2. Both colts have plenty of upside. In the latter race, Bronx Seelster was the winner for trainer Wayne McGean and owners 3 Capers Stable of Sydney, N.S.
It’s only early in the Atlantic Sire stakes but the first crop by Earl Watts-based stallion Malicious have been impressive.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
