Latest news with #Acadie-BathurstTitan
CBC
23-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Farewell, Titan: Fans crowd Bathurst arena for final regular-season home game
Social Sharing With 45 minutes to game time Saturday, three teenage girls stood outside the K.C. Irving Regional Centre, hoping to get their hands on tickets for the final regular-season home game for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Exchange students from Hungary, Turkey and Spain, the Titan were the first experience of Canadian hockey for Zsanett Szecsod, Hanzade Yakit and Nadia Bernabé. "We just loved it, and [today is] the last chance we get," Yakit said. Saturday night's game was the last chance for the three students to see the Titan play before heading back to their home countries, but it was also the last chance for many New Brunswick fans, the ones who grew up with the team, the ones whose children, grown now, still catch a game when they come back home. The team is relocating to St. John's this fall and will be replaced in Bathurst by the Chaleur Lightning of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. While a longtime struggle with attendance is one reason the team is leaving, it was not a problem Saturday. For the first time in a long time, the game sold out, evidence in itself of the impact the Titan have had on the community. The Moncton Wildcats won 6-5 in overtime. But the Titan gave a strong effort against one of the top teams in the country. "It's an opportunity for us to finish things off strong," said head coach Gordie Dwyer before the game. The Titan have had some shining moments during their 30-year run in Bathurst, including a Memorial Cup in 2018. Dwyer said Saturday night's game, though an emotional one, was important for the community — as much a part of the Titan as the players themselves. "For a small town in northern New Brunswick, to have that and be able to build that history as an organization and be able to share that with the people here in this region, I believe that that's really been the lasting legacy." It's that legacy that brought Danica Pitre back to Bathurst from Nova Scotia, where she's been living for the past two years after growing up in Beresford. She said it was worth the drive. "Outside the ice, [the players have] been in schools, they've been role models for us," she said. "I'm happy to be here today, but I'm going to be really sad to say bye because I know it's the last game for me." Longtime fans Suzanne and Lloyd Hussey plan to buy season tickets for the Lightning when they arrive in the fall. But they won't forget the Titan. They had season tickets for the past 15 years. "It's going to be well-missed," Suzanne said. The Titan will play Chicoutimi in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs. Games 3, 4 and 5, if necessary, are home games for the Titan.
CBC
09-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
'Feels like my mom was in the building': For this Moosehead, Fight Cancer Night is personal
For the second straight season on the Halifax Mooseheads' annual Fight Cancer Night, Braeden MacPhee has found a way to honour his late mom. MacPhee's mom, Jolene Conway, died of cancer in April 2023 at the age of 46. MacPhee, a 20-year-old forward from Moncton, N.B., scored his team's first goal on Saturday night on the way to a 2-1 comeback win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. "It just kinda has some relief off the shoulders and it feels like my mom was in the building with me, which is always really special," he said. MacPhee also scored at last season's Fight Cancer Night game. The cancer night games raise funds and awareness for all types of cancer, and the purple jerseys players wear for the night are auctioned off. Halifax Mooseheads goalie Jacob Steinman, 20, joined the team last month in a trade. He said that while he's still getting to know his teammates, he knew what the game meant to MacPhee. "I know this night means the most, [it's] the biggest thing to him," said Steinman. "And just for him to score was just unbelievable to watch and especially just to win." The Mooseheads had a slow start, only getting their first shot on net about 15 minutes into the first period. The team was trailing 1-0 until MacPhee's goal with about one minute left in the second period gave the team a spark. MacPhee was named the first star of the game, earning a rousing ovation from an announced crowd of 8,300. His mother only told him and his younger brother about her cancer diagnosis a couple of months before her death. She wanted them to focus on sports. Her obituary noted Conway's passion for her kids' sporting activities. "She had a kind and generous heart and was always willing to help others," it said. "Her positive outlook on life and infectious smile will be deeply missed by all who knew her." MacPhee said his mom always told him to look at the bright side of things. "It's a missing part of my life, but she would want me to keep working hard, keep chasing after my dreams," he said. "And that's exactly what I'm gonna do."
