Flyers prevail in exciting finish vs. Wild
Moncton scores two late goals
The Moncton Flyers proved why they are the first-place team in the New Brunswick/ P.E.I. Major Midget Hockey League on Saturday night.
After giving up the tying goal with 2:15 remaining in regulation time, the Flyers did not panic and promptly went on to score twice in the final 1:16 of regulation time to defeat the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild 7-5 at Community Gardens. Moncton’s final goal came into an empty net with one second remaining.
The Flyers led 1-0 after the first period, and the teams entered the final 20 minutes tied 3-3.
The teams then exchanged one-goal leads in the third period, and Yanick LeBlanc’s goal at 18:46 proved to be the winner. LeBlanc scored just after Wild goaltender Caleb Coyle had robbed the Flyers from point-blank range, but the puck came out the other side and LeBlanc, who had all kinds of time, made no mistake scoring up high.
Nash Smith scored a hat trick to lead the Flyers, who are 14-3-1 (won-lost-overtime losses). Miguel Poirier, Yannick Bastarache and Cole Cormier rounded out Moncton’s scoring. Dixon MacLeod (1-1), Frank Fortin (1-1), Ryan Richards, Isaac Callaghan and Evan Gallant provided goals for the Wild (9-5-1). Chase Gaudette (2), Clark Webster (2), Colby MacArthur (2) and William Proud chipped in with assists. Both goaltenders – Coyle and the Flyers’ Daniel Thompson – had a busy night as Moncton held a 52-48 shots-on-goal advantage.
The Wild’s next game is Saturday, Dec. 2, when the Fredericton Caps visit the Gardens for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff. Fredericton took a 4-9-0 record into Sunday’s game against the Northern Moose (4-7-3).