Caps bounce back
Summerside connects for three power-play goals in another close game vs. Blizzard
The power play provided a much-needed spark for the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals. The Capitals, coming off a heart-breaking 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3, connected for three goals with the man advantage in a 6-4 win over the Edmundston Blizzard on Wednesday night to tie the best-ofseven Eastlink North Division final series 2-2. Game 5 is in Edmundston, N.B., on Saturday night, and Game 6 will be back at Eastlink Arena on Monday at 7 p.m.
“This was a real important game,” said Capitals head coach Billy McGuigan. “If we didn’t get this one we were in a whole heap of trouble, and they’d be in the driver’s seat.
“It’s nice to get this one, but we move on and think about the next one.” Although it was not mathematically a must-win for the Capitals, the possibility of falling behind 3-1 was not lost on the Caps’ players.
“It was a must-win game, and we knew we can’t go back to their barn down 3-1,” said Capitals forward Brodie MacArthur, who contributed three assists to extend his point streak to 45 games. “Coming into it we all knew it was important.” Things did not look promising for the Capitals as the Blizzard scored twice in the first five minutes of the second period to take a 3-2 lead.
The Capitals were having trouble to get anything generated offensively, and there was no life in the crowd at Eastlink Arena. However, MacArthur noted there was no signs of panic by the Caps.
“We all gathered on the bench and knew to stay calm and our chances would come,” said MacArthur, who has a team-leading 15 points in the post-season, including 12 assists. “They came, and we capitalized.”
Key goals
Chris Chaddock’s power-play goal at 11:29 tied the game, and captain Morgan MacDonald scored at 12:31 to give the Caps the lead for good, and get the crowd back in the game. TJ Shea scored his first of two goals in the game on the power play at 18:58 to send the Caps into the second intermission up 5-3. The Caps did a nice job of limiting the Blizzard’s scoring opportunities in the third period. With goaltender Francis Asselin on the bench for an extra attacker, Alexandre Jacob scored to bring the Blizzard to within 5-4, and set the stage for another nail-biting finish as the first three games were all decided by one goal.
The Blizzard again pulled Asselin, but Shea completed the scoring into an empty net with 1:02 showing on the clock. Shea also added an assist for a threepoint night.
“Our best period always seems to be our third period as we seem to get better as the game goes on,” said McGuigan. “It was nice to shut it down.” Kallum Muirhead and Cameron Roberts also scored for the Capitals, who also received five assists from rookie defenceman Jordan Spence. Kyle Ward, Vincent Rioux and Gabriel Vanier rounded out Edmundston’s scoring.
“It was a pretty good effort from us,” assessed Blizzard head coach Ryan Salvis. “It
was a good start, and what we wanted to do right off the getgo.
“We got into a little bit of penalty trouble, and they had a few bounces that went their way. You are going to get those bounces when you work hard.
“We will take some positives, we’ll take some negatives out of this one, and we will regroup for Saturday.”
Both head coaches agreed special teams played a big role. Entering Game 4, the Caps were 2-for-16 on the power play while the Blizzard was 0-for-11. “We had to adjust some stuff,” said McGuigan. “They were doing a great job on the kill, and they are a great hockey team.
“We had to find a way to get more pucks and bodies to the
net, and we were fortunate to do that. We had a couple of bounces, one I think bounced off two guys and hit one of our guys in the belly and went in the net, but that’s part of playoff hockey.”
Salvis offered: “(The Caps’ power play) obviously was what changed the outcome of the game. We have to look at the video and look at a few things that we can improve.
“We have two days to rest a bit, get back to work and get ready for Saturday.” When asked how the Caps rebounded from Tuesday’s overtime loss – a game in which they twice held one-goal leads – MacArthur said there was an optional skate Wednesday morning and an early team meeting to go over the game plan at 5 p.m.
“Obviously, everyone was down, but we knew today was a new day and everyone came here positive,” said the Summerside native.