SYDNEY, N.S. — The last time the Cape Breton Unionized Tradesmen hosted their cross-island rivals, they toppled the defending national champion Cape Breton West Islanders in Membertou.

The Tradesmen will look for a similar result this week. The teams meet in Nova Scotia Eastlink Major Midget Hockey League action on Wednesday at the Membertou Sport and Wellness Centre starting at 7 p.m.

The two games the teams have played already have been close outcomes. The Tradesmen were backstopped by Seth Crowe’s 38-save performance in a 5-3 victory in Membertou on Oct. 11, but the Islanders erased a 5-1 third-period deficit to score a 6-5 overtime win in Port Hood, Nov. 9.

“Being league champions and national champs, our guys look forward to the challenge,” said Tradesmen head coach Ken Tracey. “Hopefully, we’ll have more consistency in our game than the last game we played them, we’ll play for 60 minutes and have the result we were looking for.”

The Tradesmen, seventh in the eight-team league with a 7-12-2-0 record, are looking to build off a positive road trip. After coming up short 4-2 to the South Shore Mustangs on Saturday, Cape Breton rebounded for a 7-1 victory, as Kenzie MacKinnon fired a hat trick and added an assist.

In fact, the line of MacKinnon, Sonny Kabatay and Sam Gillis combined for four goals and six assists in the victory. Kabatay and Gillis lead the team with 26 points each.

“Saturday we had a real good first, a decent second and a third I’m not sure where we went,” said Tracey. “The third period for me was basically mismanaging our ice time and the puck.

“We did a better job of it Sunday. Our structure was good and we competed. We made good decisions off the puck and good decisions with it. We want to carry that momentum into Wednesday and get a good result.”

The Islanders, who sit in third place with a 16-5-0-0 record, may have a rookie-laden roster, but are playing like anything but newcomers to the major midget loop. The defending champions have won seven of their last 10 games and are on a two-game winning streak.

Stephen Fox leads the league in scoring with 24 goals and 17 assists for 41 points, while Calum MacPherson is third in the league with 20 goals and 11 helpers for 31 points.

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Head-to-Head

Cape Breton Unionized Tradesmen

Record: 7-12-2-0, 16 points

Streak: 1-0-0-0

Last 10: 4-5-1-0

Top three scorers: Sam Gillis (11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points), Sonny Kabatay (10 goals, 16 assists, 26 points), Thomas Simon (9 goals, 8 assists, 17 points), Kenzie MacKinnon (8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points), Ashton Paul (6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points)

Cape Breton West Islanders

Record: 16-5-0-0, 32 points

Streak: 2-0-0-0

Last 10: 7-2-0-1

Top three scorers: Stephen Fox (24 goals, 17 assists, 41 points), Calum MacPherson (20 goals, 11 assists, 31 points), Fearghus MacDonald (5 goals, 22 assists, 27 points)