New line dominates

MacArthur, MacKinnon, Muirhead combine for 17 points in Caps’ win

SUMMERSIDE – The opening act of the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals’ newly formed No. 1 line was an impressive show,.

The combination of captain Brodie MacArthur, Kallum Muirhead and Carson MacKinnon, who was making his Caps’ debut, combined for 17 points in an 8-2 victory Thursday over the Edmundston Blizzard.

“It was pretty special,” said MacKinnon, who signed with the Caps last weekend after playing 4 ½ years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and two years at Notre Dame high school in Wilcox, Sask. “It’s been a long time coming.

“I haven’t been home since Grade 8 and my first year of bantam. It’s good to be back here wearing the colours I started with. It was a special night and it was nice to be back with some of the guys I grew up playing with again.”

MacArthur had three goals and four assists for a seven-point night. MacKinnon netted a hat trick and added two assists while Muirhead scored once and assisted on four others.

“It’s pretty cool,” said MacArthur. “(MacKinnon and I) played together back in the day in peewee and atom. It showed (Thursday) our chemistry is still there.”

Caps head coach Billy McGuigan described the three 20-year-olds as a dominant line.

“Looking at the whole structure of our team, we have to see if those guys can play together or is it better for our team to spread out the scoring,” said McGuigan. “I talked to them about it for a bit.

“We wanted to try them together and I basically told them that if they weren’t lights out we are going to have to spread the depth around. They were exceptional (Thursday).”

The Caps, the eighth-ranked team in the Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings this week, have won six games in a row and seven of their last eight.

Dominik Tmej turned in a 42save performance, including 16 in the first period, to earn the win.

“At the end of the day, if it wasn’t for Dominik Tmej in the

“It’s pretty cool … (MacKinnon and I) played together back in the day in peewee and atom. It showed (Thursday) our chemistry is still there.” Brodie MacArthur

first period we would have been in trouble,” said McGuigan. “It was a massive game for Dom. He was outstanding and in the first period we were on our heels and they were coming at us pretty good and were attacking with speed. He settled in and helped us settle in.”