“It was surreal,” said Devoe of the Marauders’ first Green and Gold title since 2016.

“It was the talk of the town there for a little bit. It was an unbelievable moment. When you’re on the ice in a 1-0 game like that, it was nerve-racking, but also very exciting.”

It was Devoe’s first tournament title victory as a member of the Marauders, but the Alder Point product hopes it won’t be his last, especially this week.

Memorial will host the annual Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament this week, beginning on Thursday night at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney.

The four-day high school hockey event will feature nine teams over three divisions, including a club from Winnipeg known as the Garden City Gophers.

Memorial will be in Division 1, along with the Sydney Academy Wildcats and Sommet Cougars of Halifax.

Meanwhile, Division 2 will include the Glace Bay Panthers, Auburn Drive Eagles of Westphal, and Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals of Antigonish. Division 3 will feature the Riverview Ravens, J.L. IIsley Judges of Halifax, and Garden City.

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“We have high expectations going into this year’s tournament. We’re not taking anyone lightly. We know how tight the games can get and the competition we’re facing, every team will look to come out on top, but I think we set the bar high and we’re going to look to repeat.”

Memorial Marauders players, from left, Owen Giorno, Eric Power and Noah Tremblett celebrate after a goal during Cape Breton High School Hockey League action earlier this season at Miners Forum in Glace Bay. The Marauders will host the annual Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Hockey Tournament this week at Emera Centre Northside in North Sydney. JEREMY FRASER/CAPE BRETON POST Jeremy Fraser

TALK OF THE TOWN

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Having been established in 2003, the tournament honours the memory of Mae Kibyuk, an avid Memorial Marauders fan who died earlier in the same year at age 72.

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Since that time, the tournament has continued to be a draw for hockey supporters across Northside communities and beyond.

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“It’s always the talk of the town,” said Devoe, a Grade 11 student. “We tend to have a good crowd for our games, the community really gets behind us, and the competition on the ice is usually really good. We know the importance of the tournament, not only for the school but our community as well.”

This season, the Marauders sit in third place in the four-team Cape Breton High School Hockey League with a 2-2-0-0 record. The club is four points behind Riverview for second place in the league.

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Marauders head coach Jacob Jessome said his team is the youngest in the league but is building an identity and recreating the high expectations set by former head coach Marc Lyle, who Jessome replaced as bench boss for this season.

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“We want to take it day-by-day but the boys have set the standard high in the room,” said Jessome, who, prior to taking over from Lyle, was an assistant coach with the club for three seasons.

 

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“The boys can’t wait to hit the ice. We look forward to enjoying each game and taking it all in as a team. We want to give our community a reason to cheer and be successful as a team to get the chance to play games on Sunday.”

 

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SCORING PUNCH

A team that wasn’t expected to have trouble scoring goals at the start of the season, Memorial recently added to its scoring punch with the addition of forwards Jasper Allain and Owen Gracie.

 

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Allain and Gracie both started the season with the Sydney Mitsubishi Rush of the Nova Scotia Under-18 Major Hockey League before electing to return to the high school ranks for the 2025-26 season.

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In three games, Allain is tied for second in team scoring with three goals and six points, while Gracie recently played his first game since rejoining the team and has one goal to date. Both are expected to be key contributors to the Marauders’ success this year.

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Jackson Gerrow leads the club with three goals and eight points in four games, while a pair of defencemen in Eric Power and Devoe round out the club’s top four in scoring. Power has two goals and six points in four games, while Devoe has a goal and five points in four games.

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The club will also have league first-team all-star Levi Hull between the pipes again this season. Hull was stellar in the crease last season and was a big part of the team’s success.

“We’re off to a very promising and competitive start,” said Jessome, noting the team graduated 12 players from last year’s tournament championship-winning club.

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“We’re still learning to play a full 50 minutes as a team and looking forward to that opportunity this weekend. We have to take it shift-by-shift and continue to learn how to close out games and focus on what we can control.”

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Memorial will open the tournament on Thursday when they take on Sydney Academy at 8 p.m., at Emera Centre Northside.

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The Marauders will continue the round robin on Friday at 2 p.m., against J.H. Gillis and 8 p.m., against Sommet. The club will conclude the preliminary round of the event on Saturday at 8 p.m., against J.L. IIsley.

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As the defending champions, Devoe said there is some pressure.

 

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“We will definitely try to turn that pressure into a positive,” he said. “We’re going to need to keep games tight and make sure that our defence is there. I think everything can fall in place for us if we work shift-to-shift and focus on the little things in our game.”

The tournament semifinal games will be played on Sunday at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. The championship game is scheduled for later in the day at 2 p.m.

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Mae Kibyuk Memorial Green and Gold Tournament
– Dates: Thursday to Sunday
– Location: Emera Centre Northside, North Sydney, and Cape Breton County Recreation Centre, Coxheath
– Hosted by: Memorial High School, Sydney Mines

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Teams:
– Division 1: Memorial Marauders, Sydney Academy Wildcats and Sommet Cougars
– Division 2: Glace Bay Panthers, Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals and Auburn Drive Eagles
– Division 3: Riverview Ravens, J.L. IIsley Judges and Garden City Gophers

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Thursday:
– 6 p.m. – Riverview vs. Glace Bay
– 7:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
– 8 p.m. – Memorial vs. Sydney Academy

 

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Friday:
– 10 a.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Garden City
– 12 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Auburn Drive
– 1 p.m. – Riverview vs. J.L. IIsley *
– 2 p.m. – Memorial vs. J.H. Gillis
– 3 p.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Sommet *
– 4 p.m. – Garden City vs. Auburn Drive
– 6 p.m. – J.H. Gillis vs. J.L. IIsley
– 8 p.m. – Memorial vs. Sommet

Saturday:
– 8 a.m. – Riverview vs. Garden City
– 10 a.m. – Sydney Academy vs. Auburn Drive
– 10 a.m. – Glace Bay vs. J.H. Gillis *
– 12 p.m. – Riverview vs. Sommet
– 2 p.m. – J.L. IIsley vs. Garden City
– 4 p.m. – Glace Bay vs. Sommet
– 6 p.m. – Auburn Drive vs. J.H. Gillis
– 8 p.m. – Memorial vs. J.L. IIsley

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Sunday:
– 8 a.m. – First Place vs. Wild Card – Semifinal
– 10 a.m. – Second Place vs. Third Place – Semifinal
– 2 p.m. – Championship Game – Semifinal Winners
– 3:30 p.m. – Closing Ceremony

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* Games to be played at Cape Breton County Recreation Centre in Coxheath
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LAST 10 GREEN AND GOLD CHAMPIONS:
– 2024 – Memorial
– 2023 – Glace Bay
– 2022 – Riverview
– 2021 – Dartmouth
– 2019 – Glace Bay
– 2018 – Riverview
– 2017 – Riverview
– 2016 – Memorial
– 2015 – Riverview
– 2014 – J.L. IIsley
Note: No tournament was played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.