The team takes in players from Yarmouth to Hubbards, and up until last year practiced at the Queens Memorial Arena due to its central location. However the ice surface was too small to host their home games. Games were played out of the Chester, Bridgewater and Barrington arenas.
With Queens Place open with a full sized NHL ice surface, the team can now host all of their home events out of Liverpool
It doesn't hurt that both the staff at Queens Place and the community at large have been very supportive of the team, says Brad Muise, head coach of the team.
After Queens Place opened, the team hosted a tournament and some late season games. The Major Bantam Provincial Championships were also hosted at Queens Place.
The turnout for all their games has been incredible he says.
"The community has been unbelievably supportive of our program. They've really embraced us by coming out in really good numbers."
For this upcoming year the team has several major away tournaments planned as well. First up is the Maritime Cup, where teams from the three provinces and Eastern United States will meet. Shortly after that is the Esso Challenge Cup, bringing together 24 teams from the four Atlantic Provinces.
The Hurricanes were formed for the 2010-2011 hockey season, when the major bantam league was first founded. At the time the league had 24 AAA Bantam teams, but Muise says they decided to pare it down to 12 Major Bantam teams to concentrate the talent. Yarmouth and the South Shore teams were merged to create the Western Hurricanes.
"It's made the league very strong," he says.
Not only was the league stronger, but so were the Hurricanes. In the past two seasons the team has won the provincial banner, and Muise says the team is looking strong for the upcoming year as well.
"I think this might be our strongest year yet. We've got a real good group of kids," he says.
If the pre-season is any indication, that's no idle boasting. As of last week, the team had and 8-0 record.
Behind the bench, expect to see a local face helping guide the Hurricanes through their season. Adam Masland was named Assistant Coach to the team.
Adam comes to the Hurricanes with head coaching experience at the High School level and extensive playing background with the Brockville Braves of the Ontario Junior A League and Halifax Oland Exports of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League.
"Adam is a coach that we have been targeting to have on our staff for some time now," says Muise.
Adam is an avid golfer and a Bruins fan. He resides in Liverpool with his wife and two daughters.
This upcoming weekend marks the opening of their regular season, and the team will start off with a pair of away games. Their home opening games take place the following weekend, Saturday Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. and Sunday Sept. 30 at 11 a.m.
After that weekend, home games will be played every Saturday at 6:15 p.m., and Sundays at 11 a.m.
