A double tragedy has struck a community on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia after two fathers were killed in a car accident early Sunday morning while supporting their sons at a hockey tournament.

Just last week, the Eastern Shore District High School team played their season opener in Musquodoboit Harbour, packing the rink with parents, supporters, even a local radio station.

On Monday, the school mourned.

"The parents know each other very well, they go out to games, they watch a lot of games, and they support each other. Yes, this is a group that knows each other very well," said Pat Savage, principal at Eastern Shore District High.

Two fathers of players were with the team in the Annapolis Valley for a hockey tournament.

Police said the vehicle drove off a curve on Ridge Road and struck a tree near Wolfville.

The driver of the car, 43-year-old Vince Penney of Chezzetcook, died at the scene. The other father, a 46-year-old-man from Musquodoboit Harbour, was taken to hospital but later died.

Police said his name will not be released at the request of his family. RCMP officers are still investigating the cause of the crash.

The vehicle hit a tree near a sharp turn in Wolfville. (Craig Paisley/CBC)

"These people were not from the area, so I'm going to suggest that maybe they were not totally familiar with the road, so this could have been one of the factors contributing to the collision as well as either being rainy or very cloudy," said RCMP Sgt. Alain LeBlanc.

The accident isn't the first time that tragedy has come to the hockey team. In January, a player died in a car accident.

"Today we have an extra counsellor here from a neighbouring school. We have our counsellor and teen centre co-ordinator here meeting with kids, we have an area designated where kids can go if they're too upset to be in class," said Savage.

"My hope is that being a strong group they'll work together to help each other over the next couple of days and my hope as a school is that we help them."

The team will take a break from practices and games for at least a week as they regroup.