Edmundston defeats Caps in Game 7 to win division title
By Jason Simmonds
Journal Pioneer
SUMMERSIDE – The Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals’ storybook season came to an end Wednesday night.
The Edmundston Blizzard defeated the Caps 8-3 in Game 7 of the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division final series. The Blizzard will now face the Eastlink South Division-champion Yarmouth Mariners in the best-of-seven championship. It marked the third year in a row the Caps have been eliminated in the division final.
The Capitals, who entered the season with a realistic expectation of competing for a playoff spot, finished second in the Eastlink North Division at 33-16-1-0 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses). The Caps ousted the Campbellton Tigers 4-1 in the best-of-seven opening-round series, were nine points behind the first-place and regular-season-champion Blizzard (36-10-4-0).
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The Capitals, however, gave the Blizzard everything they could handle. In fact, the first five games could not have been any closer, and any one of those contests could have gone either way. The Caps scored in the final minute of regulation time to win Game 1 by a 5-4 score; the outcome of the Blizzard’s 3-2 win in Game 2 came right down to the final buzzer, and Edmundston won Game 3 in the first overtime period and Game 5 just past the halfway mark of the second extra period. The Caps won the fourth game 6-4 after an empty-net goal with 1:01 left in the third period. The Caps’ other win was a 4-1 decision in Game 6 that sent the series back to Edmundston for a winner-take-all showdown.
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Four points for Ward
Before 2,751 fans at Centre Jean Daigle, Kyle Ward scored two goals and added two assists to pace the Blizzard in Game 7. Maxime Grandmaison netted a pair of goals while single goals came off the sticks of Pierre Bourgoin, Keenan Gillis, Alexandre Bernier and Dany Coulombe. Ward scored seven goals in the series, including the overtime winner early in Game 3. In the deciding game, Ward opened the scoring at 5:38 of the opening period, and scored an unassisted goal to give the Blizzard a 4-1 lead at 8:12 of the second period.
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Logan Johnston, Alex Lavoie, Gabriel Vanier, Justin Lush and Alexandre Jacob chipped in with assists.
For the Caps, TJ Shea, who had a team-leading 13 points in the series against Edmundston, and Jordan Spence each had a goal and an assist. Brodie MacArthur also scored to extend his point streak to 48 games. Josh MacDonald and Sam Lau added single helpers.
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Period scores
The Blizzard led 2-1 after one period, and extended that margin to 6-3 after 40 minutes.
Winning goaltender Francis Asselin stopped 29 of 32 shots. Summerside starter Alex Bishop and Dominik Tmej shared the goaltending duties for the Caps.
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The game’s three stars were: 1. Kyle Ward (Blizzard), 2. Maxime Grandmaison (Blizzard), 3. TJ Shea (Capitals).
Game 7 marked the final junior A game for six graduating Capitals – Bishop, captain Morgan MacDonald, Sebastien Cormier, Alex Beaulieu, Hunter McTague and Chris Chaddock.
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
Blizzard 1 at Capitals 4.
Wednesday, April 11
Game 7
Capitals 3 at Blizzard 8.
