It's been a rough few years for the Memorial Marauders high school hockey program.
For the past three years, the team has finished in third place in the now four-team Cape Breton league, winning a combined 10 games during that time.
Although the Marauders are presently in third place, that doesn't indicate the club's progress under first-year head coach Marc Lyle.
Through the first 15 games of the season, the Marauders have a 5-6-4-0 record and 18 points. They trail the first-place Glace Bay Panthers and second-place Riverview Ravens with little time left in the season.
To put it into perspective, Memorial had all of three wins in 18 games in 2019-20 and six wins during the 2018-19 campaign. In 2017-18, the club posted one win in 16 games.
At first glance, Memorial's record may not seem overly attractive, but ask Glace Bay, Riverview and Sydney Academy and they'll surely tell you there isn't an easy game against the Sydney Mines-based team this season.
In fact, seven of the team's 10 losses were by one or two goals — five one-goal games and two two-goal contests — while four of the club's games went to overtime, and despite losing, they did pick up points.
This season, especially since the league resumed play last month, the Marauders have shown their willingness to never give up no matter the score. It's not hard to tell Lyle and his coaching staff have established a strong work ethic, which includes a good forecheck.
A big part of the club's progress has come from Grade 12 forward Ian Jenkins.
The North Sydney product is currently fourth in the league in points (24) and leads the league in goals (17). His best game of the season came on Jan. 28 where he posted five goals against Sydney Academy.
Like Jenkins, Grade 12 forward Nolan Ryan has helped the Marauders offensively. Ryan had four goals and 16 points in 2019-20. This season, he's eighth among the top 10 leaders with six goals and 18 points.
Between the pipes, Andrew Marsh has given Memorial a chance to win every time he's in the crease.
Marsh, who served as a backup netminder for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Acadie-Bathurst Titan while the club was in Cape Breton earlier this season, has had a good season to date and has a winning record.
Memorial should use this year as a stepping stone and continue to build off the progress made this season in working towards becoming a contender for the league title each year.
The 2020-21 season isn't over just yet. The regular season continues this week, but when the playoffs come round in the coming weeks, Memorial could be a team to surprise and cause fits for the top contenders when it comes to the Highland region title.
Memorial will return to the ice on Thursday when they host Sydney Academy at 7 p.m. at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney and will play Riverview on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath.
Jeremy Fraser covers sports for the Cape Breton Post. He welcomes column ideas, sports story suggestions or feedback about this week’s Sports Chat.
