A team of young stars from across the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) defeated Team LHJAAAQ at the Pictou County Wellness Centre on Wednesday night 4-3 in overtime.
Nathan Curson (Truro Bearcats) got the scoring started at 9:45 of the 1st period on a powerplay for Team MHL, who outshot Team LHJAAAQ 11-5 in the 1st period. Charles-Isaac Leroux (L’Indigo de Granby) tied the game at 9:26 of the 2nd period. That spelt the end of the game for the two goaltenders who started the game. Niko Boudreau (Campbellton Tigers) stopped ten of eleven shots he faced, while Simon Cormier (Panthères St-Jérome), who is from Dieppe, N.B., stopped eleven of twelve shots he faced.
Quebec would take its first lead of the game at 13:30 of the 2nd period as Malik Houle (Titan Princeville) scored. The MHL tied things up shortly after, however, as Owen O’Donnell (Yarmouth Mariners) ripped a shot past Xavier Caron (Braves de Valleyfield) to put the score at 2-2 heading to the 3rd period.
The back-and-forth game continued in the 3rd period as Carter Bromley (Chaleur Lightning) gave the MHL a 3-2 lead at 4:04, but Lucas Scartozzi (Collège-Français Longueuil) tied the game at 7:04. Caron and Louca Connolly (Truro Bearcats) held their ground for the rest of regulation, sending the game to overtime. In the extra frame, Elliott Wright (Amherst Ramblers) popped the water bottle to give the MHL a 4-3 victory.
The MHL congratulates the players and staff from both teams for an outstanding evening at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.