The Capitals, led by a three-assist performance from veteran defenceman Tanner McCabe of Charlottetown, posted a solid 5-1 victory over the Dieppe Commandos on Sunday afternoon.
“We followed the structure our coaches implemented for us, we played a defence-first kind of game and we won the battles at the blue-lines, chipped pucks in, chased them and another big factor is we were physical,” commented McCabe, 20.
It was the third win in a row for the road team in the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division semifinal series in the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League).
The Caps, who won the series opener 3-2 in double overtime and lost Game 2 by a 2-1 score, now hold a 2-1 lead. The series resumes in Summerside on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“The work ethic has to be there, and we know we can improve every game,” said McCabe in looking ahead to Game 4. “We are two equal teams, and we are identical in how we play. It’s going to come down to who wants it more at the end of the day.”
Commandos co-head coach Frédérick Roy is confident his team will bounce back.
"We had a better record in Summerside and they had the better one here during the regular season,” Roy told the Moncton Times-Transcript, adding the Commandos need to regain the momentum. "The good thing is we only have 48 hours before we play again.
“We did complicate ourselves a bit (Sunday). We will find our legs, attack in the neutral zone and work hard offensively to score. This is going to be a long series.’’
Early lead
Before 479 fans in Dieppe, N.B., the Caps jumped out to a 2-0 lead just before the 10-minute mark of the first period. The Caps led 2-1 after 20 minutes, and scored the only two goals of the second period.
The Capitals, led by a three-assist performance from veteran defenceman Tanner McCabe of Charlottetown, posted a solid 5-1 victory over the Dieppe Commandos on Sunday afternoon.
“We followed the structure our coaches implemented for us, we played a defence-first kind of game and we won the battles at the blue-lines, chipped pucks in, chased them and another big factor is we were physical,” commented McCabe, 20.
It was the third win in a row for the road team in the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division semifinal series in the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League).
The Caps, who won the series opener 3-2 in double overtime and lost Game 2 by a 2-1 score, now hold a 2-1 lead. The series resumes in Summerside on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“The work ethic has to be there, and we know we can improve every game,” said McCabe in looking ahead to Game 4. “We are two equal teams, and we are identical in how we play. It’s going to come down to who wants it more at the end of the day.”
Commandos co-head coach Frédérick Roy is confident his team will bounce back.
"We had a better record in Summerside and they had the better one here during the regular season,” Roy told the Moncton Times-Transcript, adding the Commandos need to regain the momentum. "The good thing is we only have 48 hours before we play again.
“We did complicate ourselves a bit (Sunday). We will find our legs, attack in the neutral zone and work hard offensively to score. This is going to be a long series.’’
Early lead
Before 479 fans in Dieppe, N.B., the Caps jumped out to a 2-0 lead just before the 10-minute mark of the first period. The Caps led 2-1 after 20 minutes, and scored the only two goals of the second period.
Rookies Brodie MacArthur (1-1), Kallum Muirhead (1-1), Jacob Levesque and TJ Shea scored for the Capitals, who received a goal and an assist from veteran David Osborne. Austin Taylor, Alex Rawding and Alex McQuaid added single helpers.
Nicholas Jessome, assisted by Sam Jay of Freetown, netted the lone goal for Dieppe.
McCabe, known as a shut-down defenceman, was happy to contribute offensively.
“I’m generally not an offensive kind of player, but they were just shots from the point that got through, and the other players did the rest,” said McCabe.
Click here for story on three Western Capitals named recipients of MHL awards:
Langlais shining
Overall, the Caps outshot Dieppe 38-22, including period advantages of 10-8, 15-5 and 13-9.
Christofer Langlais, who was named the MHL’s goaltender of the year on Friday night, continued his strong play for the Capitals, stopping 21 shots. In the first three games of the series, Langlais has turned aside 100 of 105 shots for a microscopic 1.55 goals-against average and .950 save percentage.
Frederic Foulem tended goal for the Commandos.
The game’s three stars were:
1. Tanner McCabe (Capitals), 2. Brodie MacArthur (Capitals), 3. David Osborne (Capitals).
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