Western Capitals Begin ‘26-27 Season in Truro, Drop 6-3 Decision to Bearcats

By Reegan MacAulay

The Summerside Western Capitals battled back from a four-goal deficit Saturday night but couldn’t overcome the Truro Bearcats, falling 6-3 at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre in Truro, N.S.

Summerside met a familiar foe to begin the 2026-27 Maritime Hockey League regular season, visiting Truro to face off against its 2026 divisional final rivals.

Lane Sim, Gavin Smith, and Luke Inman scored for the Capitals, while Vincent Gladu made 15 saves in his MHL debut.

Sim opened the scoring with an early power-play goal 5:09 into the contest, finishing a setup from Aiden Diamond and Cade Moser to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead.

The Bearcats responded with a pair of goals later in the opening period. James Martin tied the game at 12:58 before Seth MacKenzie put Truro ahead at 14:28, sending the Bearcats into the first intermission with a 2-1 advantage.

Two more markers at 7:14 and 8:00 of the second period, scored by Antoine Fontaine – on the power play – and James Martin, respectively, extended Truro’s lead to three.

Just 1:43 into the third and final frame, Rylan Sutherland scored shorthanded to put Truro up 5-1.

Rather than fold, Summerside answered with two goals of its own.

Smith cut into the deficit on the power play at 2:57, deflecting a shot by Declan MacLauchlan. Matthew MacLean drew the secondary assist.

Just eight minutes later, Inman brought the Capitals within two with his first career MHL goal, blasting a one-timer off a feed from Cade Moser. Isaac Taweel picked up the secondary assist.

Summerside pulled Gladu for the extra attacker in the final minutes, but Truro ultimately put the game out of reach as Callum Aucoin scored into the empty net at 18:26 to make it 6-3.

The Capitals finished the night 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Bearcats went 1-for-5. Summerside outshot Truro 28-21, with Louca Connolly turning aside 25 of the Capitals’ shots in the Bearcats net.

Summerside looks to put its season-opening loss in the rearview mirror when it next stops in Edmundston, N.B., to play the Blizzard next Saturday, September 19, at Centre Jean Daigle.

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Fans can now secure their seats for the 2026–27 Summerside Western Capitals season.

Season tickets are on sale now at: sside.ca/Capitals-SeasonTickets

The Western Capitals look forward to welcoming fans back to the Credit Union Place for another season of hockey.

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