SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. —
The Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals are still alive in the 2019 MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) playoffs.
Conor MacEachern scored once and assisted on two others while Dominik Tmej registered a 20-save shutout as the Caps defeated the Campbellton Tigers 3-0 on Monday night.
“We knew our backs were against the wall and everyone was going to need to chip in,” said MacEachern. “We had a great team effort. I have to give the credit to all the guys, because everyone stepped up.”
Tigers head coach Greg Leland offered this assessment of his team’s play in a post-game interview with the Journal Pioneer: “We got outworked by a desperate team. We were undisciplined and selfish and Summerside deserved to win from start to finish.”
The win cuts the Tigers’ lead in the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division final series to 3-2, with Game 6 set for the Campbellton Memorial Civic Centre on Wednesday evening. A Caps’ win will bring the series back to Summerside for a seventh and deciding game Friday night, and a Campbellton victory will send the Tigers into the league final for the first time since 2005.
First goal at home this series
Before 1,955 fans at Eastlink Arena, Dylan Riley’s power-play goal at 13:27 of the second period opened the scoring, and allowed a nervous pro-Caps’ crowd able to take a sigh of relief. It was the first goal the Caps scored on home ice this series after losing Games 1 and 3 by identical 2-0 scores.
Cameron Roberts beat Campbellton goaltender Marc-Antoine Berube-Jalbert high over his left shoulder for the Caps’ second straight power-play goal at 18:03 to send the Caps into the second intermission up 2-0.
MacEachern’s goal at 8:27 of the final period closed out the scoring. Sullivan Sparkes, who was under the Tigers’ skin most of the night, Noah Massie, Josh MacDonald and Marc Richard contributed assists.
“It was a great team win,” said Tmej. “We really worked hard and for the first time in the series I think we outworked them. That’s the hockey we want to play.”
Tmej was quick to praise his teammates for blocking “so many” shots.
“Noah Massie and Jacob Arsenault just dominated on the blocks helping me out,” said Tmej. “We didn’t make many mistakes. We always had a third guy coming back and supporting the D.”
Suspensions
Berube-Jalbert was making a rare start as Campbellton’s No. 1 goaltender, Tristan Gray, sat out a one-game suspension after receiving a high-sticking major penalty at the end of Game 4 in Campbellton on Saturday. The Tigers were also missing defenceman Francis Thibeault while the Caps were playing without suspended forwards TJ Shea and Kallum Muirhead.
Berube Jalbert stopped 35 of 38 shots.
“We are not pinning that one on Jalbert,” said Leland. “He got zero help and played well for us.”
Referees Justin DesRoches and Nick Hann called five minor penalties against the Caps. The Tigers received seven minors and one double minor for high sticking. The Caps were 2-for-7 on the power play and the Tigers went 0-for-3.
The game’s three stars were:
1. Conor MacEachern (Caps), 2. Dominik Tmej (Caps), 3. Dylan Riley (Caps).
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