SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — A rookie and a veteran paced the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals on Saturday night.
Freshman forward and Summerside native Bennett MacArthur scored a hat trick and assisted on another for a four-point night while fourth-year forward Kallum Muirhead of Charlottetown had one goal and four assists in the Caps’ 6-2 victory over the Campbellton Tigers.
It was the second win in as many days for the Caps, who defeated the Truro Bearcats 5-3 in Truro, N.S., on Friday night.
The Caps, who sit atop the Eastlink North Division, are in a tie with the Eastlink South Division-leading South Shore Lumberjacks for first place in the overall standings of the 12-team Maritime Junior Hockey League. The Caps and Lumberjacks are both 10-3-0 (won-lost-overtime losses).
Before 1,290 fans at Eastlink Arena, Brodie MacArthur (1-1) and Marc Richard also scored for the Caps, who built period leads of 3-1 and 5-1. Zach Biggar (2), Zach Thususka, Cam Roberts and Josh MacDonald chipped in with assists.
North Bedeque native Coleton Perry (1-1) and Pascal Valcourt replied for Campbellton (6-3-1), which defeated the Caps 4-3 in Campbellton on Oct. 14.
Special teams also played a big role in the game as the Caps went 4-for-8 on the power play while killing off four of five-man advantages for Campbellton.
Overall, the Capitals outshot the Tigers 48-26, including 17-5 and 17-9 advantages in the first and third periods. The Caps held a 26-8 shots-on-goal advantage halfway through the game.
Dominik Tmej earned the goaltending win. Tristan Gray stopped 26 of 31 shots through the first two periods and Isaak Pelletier turned aside 16 of 17 in the final 20 minutes.
The game’s three stars were:
1. Bennett MacArthur (Caps), 2. Kallum Muirhead (Caps), 3. Marc Richard (Caps).
The Caps visit the Miramichi Timberwolves (4-6-2) on Thursday evening and return home Saturday to face the Edmundston Blizzard (8-2-0) in the opener of a five-game homestand.
