B2

By The Daily Gleaner

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The Fredericton Caps overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cole Harbour Redwings 4-3 in overtime to win the second annual Truro Early Bird Invitational midget AAA development hockey tournament Sunday afternoon.

Game MVP Matt Wright, on the power play, snapped a rebound past Cole Harbour goalie Jack Mallet 60 seconds into sudden death to cap the comeback. David Brewer threw the puck towards the net and Wright pounced after Mallet stopped Colin Moore's initial shot.

The Redwings led 3-0 just 11:28 into the game on goals by Dennis Trainor, Steven Ferguson and Tyler Somers, but Jesse Cole began the comeback with 2:01 left in the first.

After a scoreless second, Fredericton tied it up in the third thanks to a pair of unassisted goals by Ryan Cain. Cain cut the deficit to 3-2 with 6:31 left, then tied it on the power play with 4:43 remaining, Josh LeBrun made 23 saves to outduel Mallet, who stopped 17 of 21 shots.

In Sunday morning's semifinal, the Caps beat the Saint John Phantoms 6-2 as Brewer led the way with a goal and two assists. Wright and Moore both had a goal and an assist while Justin McCarthy-Paul, Alex Lewicki and Cole also solved Saint John goalie Marcus MacDonald. Tanner Banks had two helpers while Cain, Brad Kilbride and player of the game Kevin Elliott each had an assist.

Jesse Prescott and Devon Doucette replied for the Phantoms, against LeBrun. Brewer and Moore scored 48 seconds apart to open up a 4-1 lead 1:47 into the third. The Caps outshot the Phantoms 27-21.

In the earlier semifinal, Cole Harbour rallied to beat the host Truro Bearcats 4-3 in a shootout. Somers tied it with 75 seconds left in regulation. After 25 minutes of overtime solved nothing, Somers was the only player to score in the shootout.

The Caps opened with a 3-3 tie against Cole Harbour as Banks, the player of the game, scored two goals and added an assist, tying the game with 1:45 left in the third period after being set up by Moore. Lewicki added a goal and an assist in support of goalie Matt Bailey, who made 22 saves.

Mitchell Hamilton, Somers and Andrew MacLeod replied for the Redwings. Mallet made 26 saves for Cole Harbour.

The Caps blanked the East Hants Penguins 4-0 Friday night as Brewer had a goal and two assists to back player of the game LeBrun, who stopped 15 shots for the shutout. Fredericton fired 29 shots at East Hants goalie Kinnon MacMillan and went ahead to stay when Brewer and Lewicki set up Banks just 2:29 into the game. Brewer, assisted by Banks, notched the insurance goal with 10 seconds left in the second period.

Wright, assisted by Moore and Travis Arbeau, and Alex Matte, set up by Aiden Hallihan and Brewer, added goals in the third.

The Caps, who finished 3-1-1 overall in the six-team event, suffered their only loss Saturday afternoon, a 5-1 setback to Truro. Matt MacKenzie and Caps' player of the game Hallihan, assisted by Brewer and Kilbride, traded first period goals.

But Ryan Crowe scored shorthanded 1:10 into the second to put Truro up 2-1 and the Bearcats broke the game open with three power play goals in the final 6:28. Nathaniel Cormier-Letcher, Todd Moran and Jordan Lauther did the damage against Bailey, who stopped 28 of 33 shots. Dylan Frank made 24 saves for the win.

Peewee AAA

In peewee AAA exhibition action, the Fredericton Sunbury Transport Peewee AAA Canadiens posted a 6-4 win over the Nord Ouest Pionneers of Edmundston in Florenceville. Logan Johnston, Matt McInnis, Daniel Bertrand, Connor O'Brien, Dylan Breau and Will Thompson all scored single goals for the Habs. Eddie Bainville had a pair in a losing cause for the Pionneers. Jeremy Wasson and Josh Simpson split the work in the nets for the Habs and teamed up to stop 37 shots. The league's regular season begins this weekend.