EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – The Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals have been pushed to the brink of elimination.
The Edmundston Blizzard defeated the Caps 5-4 in double overtime on Saturday night to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastlink North Division final, and move to within one win of advancing to the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) championship series. That leaves the Capitals facing a must-win situation in Game 6 at Eastlink Arena on Monday at 7 p.m., to send the game back to Edmundston for a seventh and deciding game on Wednesday.
“We are going to go into the game, and play the way we can,” said Capitals head coach Billy McGuigan in a phone interview with the Journal Pioneer early Sunday afternoon as the team stopped for a break en route to Summerside. “Every time we have had our backs against the wall this year, we came out and found a way to get it done.
“At the end of the day it’s another playoff hockey game. I know it’s a cliché, but you have to win four games to win a series.”
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McGuigan, when asked to gauge the mood of the team on Sunday following Saturday’s tough loss, said: “Right now everyone is pretty tired. There’s a lot of travel in this series, it’s gruelling to say the least.
“It feels like Groundhog Day – every day it feels you are on the bus travelling. It’s been really hard on the body of the players. . . We are going back home, we’ll respond, we’ll rebound and try to figure a way to pull one out.”
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Winning goal
Before another sold-out crowd of 2,803 fans at Centre Jean Daigle, Kyle Ward scored his second goal of the night at 10:52 of the second extra period to lift the Blizzard to victory. Gabriel Vanier and Liam Leonard set up the game-winning tally. It was Ward’s second overtime marker of the series as he scored on a redirection 1:21 into overtime in Game 3.
It was the fourth one-goal game of the series, and the Caps scored an empty net goal with 1:01 remaining in regulation time to seal a 6-4 win in Game 4.
Despite the heart-breaking loss, McGuigan said he was “pretty proud” of the Caps’ gritty performance.
“We go up there and they have 2,800 people, an unbelievable crowd and a loud and vocal crowd, and we battled back throughout the game and tie it with under two minutes left,” said McGuigan. “We gave ourselves a chance in overtime.”
Overall, the Blizzard held a 45-36 shots-on-goal advantage, but the Caps outshot their hosts 12-8 in overtime. Francis Asselin earned the goaltending win, and Dominik Tmej took the loss.
“We had some real good prime chances, but didn’t get the puck luck,” said McGuigan. “It is what it is, playoff hockey in overtime.
“One shot in overtime changes the outcome of the game. They ended up being on the right side of it in two overtime games. This series is so close, every game is a one-goal game.”
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Alexandre Jacob led the Blizzard with two goals and an assist while Logan Johnston added a goal and an assist. Alexandre Bernier (2) and Pierre Bourgoin added other assists.
TJ Shea and Cameron Roberts each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals. Chris Chaddock and Kallum Muirhead contributed single helpers. Brodie MacArthur collected a pair of helpers to extend his point streak to 46 games. Single helpers were credited to Jesse Annear, Sebastien Cormier and Brodie MacMillan.
The Blizzard, after outshooting the Caps 14-2 in the opening period, took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, and the teams were tied 2-2 at the end of 40 minutes. The Blizzard took 3-2 and 4-3 leads in the third period, but Roberts (13:42) and Shea (18:24) pulled the Caps even.
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The Blizzard was assessed four of the game’s seven minor penalties.
The game’s three stars were:
1. Kyle Ward (Blizzard), 2. Alexandre Jacob (Blizzard), 3. Logan Johnston (Blizzard).
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At A Glance
Best-of-seven Caps-Blizzard series at a glance:
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
Blizzard 4 at Capitals 6.
Game 5
Saturday, April 7
Capitals 4 at Blizzard 5(2OT).
Game 6
Monday, April 9
7 p.m. – Blizzard at Capitals.
Wednesday, April 11
Game 7, if necessary
7:30 p.m. – Capitals at Blizzard.
