Western Capitals Roll Past Campbellton, Fall to Chaleur on the Road

By Reegan MacAulay / Photo by Michael Levesque

The Summerside Western Capitals split their latest two-game road swing through northern New Brunswick, defeating the Campbellton Tigers 6-3 to extend their winning streak to four games before falling 7-3 to the Chaleur Lightning, handing them their first loss in five games.

Summerside stopped in Campbellton on Friday, October 2, to take on the Tigers for the first time in the 2026-27 Maritime Hockey League regular season.

The Western Capitals entered the contest riding a three-game run, while Campbellton was coming off a 5-2 loss to Grand Falls.

Both teams quickly filled the scoresheet in the first period, combining for five goals in just 9:30.

Summerside opened the scoring at 9:45, as Lane Sim fed captain Maverick Hayes at the point from the right boards. Hayes then sniped a shot from the top of the left circle for his first goal of the season.

Neka Jean tied the game for Campbellton at 12:26. Less than six minutes later, the floodgates opened, with three goals coming within 1:14.

Rookie forward Max Gamble scored his first MHL goal at 18:11, assisted by fellow rookie Ashton Campbell. 45 seconds later, Declan MacLauchlan extended Summerside’s lead to two (3-1), with Justin Ouellette and Luke Inman earning assists. Zakary Savoie would then cut the deficit back to one with 45 seconds remaining in the period.

Unlike the opening frame, the second period remained scoreless until 16:32, when Justin Hanscomb tied the game for Campbellton.

It looked like the game would remain tied at three heading into the second intermission, but Lincoln Waugh had other plans. With just five seconds remaining in the period, Waugh scored his first goal of the season, finishing a great play from MacLauchlan and Owen MacPherson to restore Summerside’s lead (4-3).

The Tigers did what they could in the third period to keep the game close, but the Western Capitals eventually pulled away. Justin Ouellette ripped home a one-time feed from Aiden Diamond on the power play at 15:36 to put Summerside up 5-3, with Waugh collecting the secondary assist. Jordan Shaw then sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, assisted by Cade Moser, securing the 6-3 win

Vincent Gladu earned his second win of the season after stopping 26 shots, while Samuel Quimper made 28 saves for the Tigers.

Summerside went 1-for-5 on the power play, and Campbellton went 0-for-2.

On the way back home Saturday, October 3, the Western Capitals stopped in Bathurst to battle the Chaleur Lightning for the first time this season.

Chaleur entered the game after defeating Grand Falls 5-4 in a shootout the previous night, bouncing back from a 9-3 loss to Valley.

The Lightning controlled the opening period, with Will Carroll and Zachary Rushton giving Chaleur a 2-0 lead with goals at 15:38 and 19:38.

Jack Hayne stretched the lead to three at 4:07 of the second period. Just over two minutes later, Summerside converted on the power play, with MacLauchlan firing home a one-timer from the high slot off a feed from Ouellette in the bottom of the right circle.

Carroll restored Chaleur’s three-goal advantage at 10:40 with his second of the game.

Just 2:56 into the third period, Cade Moser got the monkey off his back with his first goal of the season, ending a six-game drought. Moser finished a neat tic-tac-toe play by rookie (and recently signed) forward Jaidan Sahajpal and Matthew MacLean (back in the lineup after missing Friday’s game) on the power play to cut the gap to two.

Unfortunately for Summerside, the Lightning put the game out of reach minutes later, scoring three goals in 3:35 to widen their lead to five. Carter Bromley scored twice during the outburst, and Will Clark added the third.

The Western Capitals continued to find success on the power play, though, with their next goal fresh off a fight between Matthew Andersen and Isaiah Rogerson. Rogerson was handed a minor penalty, giving Summerside a 5-on-4 advantage.

Gamble scored his second goal of the weekend and the season at 18:05, with Sahajpal and MacLean picking up their second assists of the game.

Max Picard started in goal for the Western Capitals but was relieved by Gladu following Chaleur’s fourth goal. Picard stopped 12 shots, while Gladu denied 14. Will Cole made 22 saves for the Lightning.

Summerside went 3-for-4 on the power play, and Chaleur went 1-for-4.

Following the weekend, the Western Capitals are 4-3 and currently sit third in the Eastlink South Division standings, trailing Truro by four points for second and Valley by five for first. Summerside is tied with Chaleur for fifth in the league standings, with both teams holding eight points.

The Western Capitals will now prepare for their second home game next Saturday, October 10, when they host the Amherst Ramblers at Credit Union Place.

The puck drops at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.creditunionplace.ca.