Western Capitals Win 46th Home Opener in Shootout Thriller

By Reegan MacAulay

The Summerside Western Capitals gave 2,405 fans plenty to cheer about in their 46th regular-season home opener Saturday night, edging the Pictou County Weeks Crushers 4-3 in a shootout on September 26 at Credit Union Place.

After opening the season with two road losses before earning two consecutive victories, the Western Capitals entered their home opener with momentum, and Saturday’s back-and-forth affair provided the overhauled group with another test, this time in front of their home crowd.

They overcame a two-goal deficit and forced five minutes of three-on-three overtime. After neither team could find the winner, the game went to a shootout.

Rookie forward Declan MacLauchlan was the hero in the third round, continuing his strong start in his first Maritime Hockey League season.

“I’ve been practicing that (shootout) move for a while,” MacLauchlan said post-game. “A couple of guys said we should shoot the puck, but kind of no luck shooting, so I just did my move, came in, opening, scored.

“Not our best start, but got the job done. (Pictou County is) a good team, so every time we got the puck, we just had to go deep, play down in their end, up to the D, on the net, get some goals. The fans were great, a lot of family here; a lot of support.”

Rookie netminder Max Picard earned his second straight win and his first on home ice, stopping 24 shots, including a penalty shot in overtime, before denying all three Pictou County shooters in the shootout.

“Obviously, I’ve been there going in shootouts,” Picard said post-game. “You just give it all you got. I’m not usually a big over-the-top guy, like emotionally on the ice, but when it gets down to moments like that, emotions just take control of your body.”

Picard’s performance earned him one of the game’s three stars. Assistant general manager and head coach Billy McGuigan said he’s been flawless over his last two starts.

“He was excellent tonight and has been really good for us,” McGuigan said post-game. “He’s a big goalie, he’s athletic, and he’s eager. Tonight, he was outstanding.”

McGuigan was glad to be back home after a lengthy road swing to begin the season.

“We have the nicest facilities in Canada, and to get back home, back in the big rink, and have a game here tonight was awesome, and to win it was the cherry on top,” McGuigan said.

“The game was a little bit sloppy, so to speak, but I thought we responded well in the third period. We were sitting back a bit, and I didn’t know if we were nervous or didn’t want to make mistakes, but once we got on our toes in the third period, I thought we took over the game. It was a back-and-forth game, but a little sloppy. Winning was great for the fans.”

The Crushers opened the scoring at 13:55 of the first period when Tanner Hayden finished a play from Brennan O’Donnell and Rory Pilling.

Summerside answered late in the frame, as Matthew MacLean completed a give-and-go with Maverick Hayes to tie the game with 1:39 remaining in the first period; it was his second goal of the season. Owen MacPherson collected the secondary assist.

Pictou County regained the lead at 11:23 of the second period, with Hayden adding his second goal of the game. Ryan Walsh later extended the Crushers’ advantage to two at 14:04.

Shortly after, Justin Ouellette brought the Western Capitals back within one with 2:38 remaining in the middle frame, firing home a rebound off a MacLauchlan shot for his fourth goal of the season.

Summerside pressed more in the third period and seemed to have a fire lit under them after an early fight between Matthew Andersen and Dominic MacKenzie, with Andersen pumping up the team and the home crowd on his way off the ice.

McGuigan said the fight changed the game.

“It was an impactful situation,” McGuigan said. “The bench got up, and it certainly changed our mindset on our bench, and we were pretty fired up after that.”

Eventually, Summerside found the equalizer on the power play. At 10:53, Lane Sim’s rebound goal, his third of the season, tied the game, with assists by Ouellette and Lincoln Waugh. Waugh made his first start of the season after missing the first four games due to injury.

The deadlock remained through five minutes of overtime, setting the stage for an intense shootout.

Pictou County’s first three shooters were denied, along with Ouellette and Waugh for Summerside. That left MacLauchlan with the opportunity to decide it in the third round.

He made no mistake, deking from backhand to forehand and slipping the puck past Crushers goaltender Jake Poirier to give Summerside the 4-3 victory and send the Credit Union Place crowd home happy.

MacLauchlan was named one of the game’s three stars, along with Picard and Poirier, with the latter making 43 saves.

Summerside finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play, while Pictou County went 0-for-2.

With the win, the Western Capitals improved to 3-2-0-0 after earning three consecutive victories. They currently sit two points behind first in the Eastlink South division and league standings.

They return to action next weekend for two road games in northeastern New Brunswick, visiting the Campbellton Tigers on Friday, October 2, and the Chaleur Lightning on Saturday, October 3.

The next home game is Saturday, October 10, when Summerside hosts the Amherst Ramblers. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available at www.creditunionplace.ca.