SUMMERSIDE – The MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) playoff series between the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals and Edmundston Blizzard could not be any closer.
Kyle Ward scored 1:21 into the first overtime period to give the Blizzard a 3-2 win in Game 3, and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division final on Tuesday night. The teams go right back at it in Game 4 at Eastlink Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
“It’s good to win the first one here for sure,” said Ward following the game, played before 1,642 fans at Eastlink Arena. “It’s a tough barn to play in, and the last two games we played here in the regular season we lost. It’s going to be a big game (Wednesday), and they will come out strong.”
Click here for story on Games 1 and 2 between Caps and Blizzard:
Ward, who was skating in the front of the net, executed a perfect deflection to beat Capitals goaltender Dominik Tmej on the game-winning score.
“I shot the puck and it got tipped and went around the net,” explained Ward. “Our D (Alex Lavoie) picked it up and threw it on net, and I was able to get a good stick on it.”
Capitals head coach Billy McGuigan offered his thoughts on the contest: “I thought it was a pretty flat game actually for both teams for a playoff game, Game 3. I thought there were parts of the game we were pretty good at, and parts we weren’t.
“It is two evenly-matched teams and they got a great tip by Ward at the end, and it fooled Dom. It was a tough game.”
Blizzard head coach Ryan Salvis offered a similar assessment as McGuigan.
“It was maybe a little bit of a chess match in the first period seeing what the matchups were, and I didn’t think both teams were quite on top of their games,” said Salvis. “As the game went on I think we got a lot better.
“Our penalty kill was great again, we had a huge kill at the end and then to be able to score right after that. I’m really happy for the guys, but we just talked in the dressing room that at this point we still haven’t won anything yet, so we have to get ready for (Wednesday).”
The Edmundston Blizzard’s Dany Coulombe attempts to go wide on Summerside Western Capitals defenceman Brodie MacMillan during second-period action of Tuesday night’s MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) playoff series at Eastlink Arena. Coulombe scored two goals as the Blizzard won 3-2 in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division final.
Missed opportunities
The Capitals had a glorious opportunity as they enjoyed a man advantage for the first 1:02 of overtime, but despite a couple of close calls were unable to capitalize. The Capitals also had a power play nullified by a too-many-men on the ice penalty late in the third period.
Overall, the Caps went 0-for-4 on the power play and are 2-for-16 with the man advantage after clicking at a league-leading 25.6-per-cent average in the regular season.
“We are not getting pucks to the net as often as we’d like,” said McGuigan. “The plays are there, we are getting opportunities and looks, we are not just finding the back of the net.”
After a scoreless first period, Brodie MacArthur gave the Caps a 1-0 lead 1:55 into the second period as he fired the shot past Blizzard goaltender Francis Asselin on the stick side. The goal extended MacArthur’s point streak to 44 games.
However, it was a short-lived lead as Dany Coulombe tied the game at 2:23 as he made contact with Tmej driving to the net. Originally, referee Jeff Heron waved off the goal, but the goal judge turned on the goal light and after the officials met the decision was reversed and the goal awarded to the Blizzard.
The Caps retook the lead at 8:22 as Chris Chaddock walked out from the right-wing corner after some great work by linemate TJ Shea against two Blizzard defenders, and slid the puck past Asselin.
Coulombe, with his second of the night, made no mistake tying the game at 13:07 on a shot from the top of the right-wing faceoff circle.
The third period was scoreless, setting the stage for overtime. All three games in the series have been decided by one goal.
“They are a good hockey team, they work hard and they have some real good players,” said McGuigan. “We are a good hockey team, too.
“It’s a battle of two good hockey teams, and each night any team can win. They got the win (Tuesday), and now we go back to the drawing board.”
Edmundston now has the opportunity to take a stranglehold on the series with a win Wednesday.
“The goal was to come here and get at least one game,” said Salvis. “We thought if we could win this one, it would set us up well for (Wednesday) night as well.
“At the end of day, if we don’t take care of business (in Game 4), then this one is not nearly as nice. So we are going to start getting prepared for a big one (Wednesday).”
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Recap
Summary of Game 3betwee n Caps, Blizzard:
Final score: Blizzard 3, Caps 2 (OT).
Scoring: Blizzard – Dany Coulombe (2), Kyle Ward; Caps – Brodie MacArthur, Chris Chaddock.
Assists: Blizzard – Liam Leonard (2), Alex Lavoie, Gabriel Vanier; Caps – Kallum Muirhead, TJ Shea, Zach Thususka, Jordan Spence.
Period scores: 0-0 and 2-2.
Shots on goal: 30-25 Capitals. Each team had one shot in overtime.
Goaltenders: Blizzard – Francis Asselin; Capitals – Dominik Tmej.
Penalties: Referees Jeff Heron and Jeff Affleck called four of seven minor penalties against Edmundston.
Three stars: 1. Dany Coulombe (Blizzard), 2. Brodie MacArthur (Capitals), 3. Chris Chaddock (Capitals).
Attendance: 1,642.
Schedule
Schedule for best-of-seven Western Caps-Blizzard series:
Game 1
Saturday, March 31
Capitals 5 at Blizzard 4.
Game 2
Sunday, April 1
Capitals 2 at Blizzard 3.
Game 3
Tuesday, April 3
Blizzard 3 at Capitals 2 (OT).
Game 4
Wednesday, April 4
7 p.m. – Blizzard at Capitals.
Game 5, if necessary
Saturday, April 7
7:30 p.m. – Capitals at Blizzard.
Game 6, if necessary
Monday, April 9
7 p.m. – Blizzard at Capitals.
Wednesday, April 11
Game 7, if necessary
7:30 p.m. – Capitals at Blizzard.
