Regals claim midget AAA crown

Gallant earns shutout in title-clinching victory

SUMMERSIDE – All season the Western Regals were the class of the P.E.I. Midget AAA Hockey League.

The playoffs were no different. The Alberton-based Regals, behind Cole Gallant’s shutout goaltending, pulled out a 2-0 win over the host Kings County Kings at the Eastern Kings Sportsplex in Souris on Sunday night to win the best-of-five championship series 3-1. Gallant completed the postseason with a 0.99 goals-against average.

Carter Cahill and Sam Hackett set up Thomas Rennie’s goal with 42 seconds remaining in the second period to open the game’s scoring. That marker proved to be the game-winner. The score remained 1-0 throughout a nailbiting third period, until Hackett sealed the win with an unassisted empty-net goal with 20 seconds remaining.

Nicolas Jamieson was between the pipes for Kings County.

TOP TWO TEAMS

The final series featured the league’s top two teams in the regular season. The first-place Regals went 25-1-1 (won-losttied), and the Kings were 10 points back at 19-6-3.

The Regals, led by Chase Gaudette’s league-leading 16 points, went 6-1-0 (won-lost-overtime losses) in the playoffs, and the Kings were 4-2-1.

Other than the Regals’ 10-3 win in Game 3, the other three games in the final series were extremely close. The Regals needed overtime to win the opener 3-2, and the Kings rallied in the third period to win Game 2 by an identical score.