A pair of power-play goals in the first period propelled the Wild past the Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Pride 2-1, forcing a seventh and deciding game in their Prince Edward Island major midget hockey final.
Coleton Perry and Evan Gallant each scored for the Wild, while Blake Jamieson responded for the Pride.
“We all knew in the dressing room that we had a good team, and we were able to come back,” Wild goaltender Caleb Coyle said. “Coach just told us to go out and have fun and play our game.”
Coyle made 28 saves for the Wild, while Noah Laybolt turned aside 20 for Charlottetown.
Jamieson opened the scoring five minutes in, taking a pass from Declan MacEachern, then beating a pair of Wild defenders before beating Coyle glove side for his fourth of the series and an early 1-0 advantage.
The Wild responded with the man advantage three minutes later, as the puck found its way to Perry in front of the net, and he beat Laybolt to tie the game.
Charlottetown had a chance to retake the lead on a shorthanded break, but Coyle got a pad on a Grant MacAdam shot to keep the game tied.
With just over a minute remaining in the period, the Wild took the lead as a Tayler Read point shot bounced around, last touching Gallant for his fourth of the series to put Kensington up 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Pride head coach Luke Beck was pleased with how his team bounced back after the opening period.
“We gave them four opportunities on the power play, and they were able to cash in on two, and that’s a credit to them,” he said. “Our team’s responded well all year, and it’s just a product of a good series.”
Despite the early power plays, Beck said he has been pleased with the team’s discipline overall.
“I think it got a little bit away from us tonight, and it’s a bit of emotion for the kids,” he said. “We’ll learn from it, address it as we need to, and hopefully it doesn’t creep into our game on Saturday.”
The second period was much tighter than the opening frame, with neither team hitting the scoreboard.
Kensington’s best chance of the period came eight minutes in, as Gallant picked up a turnover in the Pride zone, but Laybolt’s glove was too quick.
The Pride had a chance to tie it up after a scramble in front of the Wild net, but Coyle was able to stop Noah Stewart at the top of the crease to preserve Kensington’s lead.
Charlottetown outshot Kensington 10-2 in the third, and their best chance came with just over a minute left and Laybolt pulled, but they couldn’t capitalize.
For Coyle, it was about staying composed in the Wild net.
“The goal is the same, so it was just staying calm and not thinking too much and just focus on stopping one shot at a time,” he said.
Game 7 will take place on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Kensington Community Gardens.
“It helps having our own fans, lots of family and friends there,” Coyle said.
