SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals may have lost in overtime, but gained ground in the race for first-place overall in the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) on Friday night.
Matthew McKay scored at 4:32 of overtime to give the Grand Falls Rapids a 3-2 win after the Capitals erased a 2-0 third-period deficit to earn a single point for the extra-time loss. The Capitals, however, opened up a four-point lead over the Yarmouth Mariners (29-8-4) in the 12-team league’s overall standings. Yarmouth, which has played two more games than Summerside, lost 6-4 to the South Shore Lumberjacks (19-17-3) on Friday.
Before 984 fans in Grand Falls, N.B., the teams played a scoreless opening period. Jean-Simon Belanger (1-1) and MacKenzie Mindus scored in the second period to make it a 2-0 game after 40 minutes in favour of the Rapids (11-21-6), who avenged an 8-0 loss to the Caps in Summerside on Tuesday night.
Click here for story on Tuesday's game between Western Capitals and Grand Falls:
Sullivan Sparkes (8:05) and Cameron Roberts (15:07) scored in the third period to pull the Caps even. Dylan Riley, Jacob Hickey, goaltender Dominik Tmej and Brodie MacArthur, who extended his point streak to 20 games, added assists.
The final shots-on-goal totals were 40-30 for the Caps. Andrew Rose earned the goaltending win.
The game’s three stars were:
1. Andrew Rose (Rapids), 2. Dawson Wood (Rapids), 3. Matthew MacKay (Rapids).
The Caps move onto Edmundston, N.B., to take on the Blizzard (20-14-4) in back-to-back games Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
The Caps’ next home game is against the Campbellton Tigers (24-11-5) on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.