Maritime Junior 'A' Hockey League Playoffs

MIRAMICHI, N.B. - Was it a comeback or a collapse?
Depends on what team you are cheering for.
Whatever the case, the result was a 5-4 win for the Miramichi Timberwolves
over the Summerside Western Capitals in Game 3 of the best-of-seven Maritime
Junior 'A' Hockey League playoff series Tuesday night.
The Caps blew a 4-2 lead after two periods as the Timberwolves scored three
unanswered third-period goals to take a 2-1 lead in the Roger Meek Division
semifinal. Matt Boudreau, who took a cross-ice pass from Nick Croft, scored
the winning goal at 18:41 of the third period, much to the delight of the
951 fans at the Miramichi Civic Centre.
The frustration from blowing the lead was evident among the Summerside
players following the game. But if head coach Gordie Dwyer was angry about
the loss, he wasn't showing it and took the loss in stride.
"They're a great team and we knew what to expect," said Dwyer. "They came
out hard in the third period and they are the favourites going in, and
they're suppose to win their home games.
"We put up a pretty good fight tonight, so we're just going to turn the page
and get ready for (Game 4) Thursday at home."

Opens scoring
The Caps opened the scoring as Trevor Carmichael beat Timberwolves
goaltender Chris Holden at 7:57 of the first period. But Croft scored at
9:09 and on the power play at 13:42 to give Miramichi a 2-1 lead.
While the first period was an even affair, the second was all Summerside.
Darcy Ashley scored just 31 seconds in, and the Caps got another from Chad
Earle at 1:44 to silence the Miramichi fans.
Then some controversy. With 1:04 on the clock, Cole MacMillan fired a shot
that clearly hit iron, but seemed to beat Holden. The Caps began to
celebrate, but the referee immediately waved off the goal. The puck went all
the way up into the Summerside zone before play was whistled.
With the Summerside bench up in arms, the referee spoke to the goal judge.
The result was a reversal of the call and the Caps led 4-2 after two
periods.
But the Timberwolves would claw back in the third. First it was Jesse
MacIntyre of Mill River finding the back of the net at 2:54. Then Matt
Milson tied the game at 13:21, before Boudreau sealed Summerside's fate.
Capitals goaltender Paul Dorsey finished with 33 saves. Holden stopped 31
shots.
Croft (2-1) and MacIntyre (1-2) each had three-point performances for
Miramichi.