Western Capitals fall short in Centennial Cup final

 

 

The host Summerside Western Capitals fell short in the 2026 Centennial Cup National Championship game 4-1 to the Niverville Nighthawks Sunday night in Summerside, P.E.I.

 

The Niverville Nighthawks are the 2026 Centennial Cup Champions and become national champions in the team's fourth season of existence.

 

Hayden Wheddon's second period goal at 8:48 would stand to be the winner for the Nighthawks. Wheddon led the way for Niverville with two goals as Marlen Edwards and Tyler Benier also tallied goals.

 

Jordan Shaw had the lone goal for the Western Capitals.

 

The Nighthawks opened the scoring at 8:07 of the first period with Wheddon's first of the game. Adam Vigfusson and Merik Boles drew assists.

 

The Western Capitals tied the game with a shorthanded goal from Shaw at 10:09. The Capitals held a 13-7 advantage in shots on goal.

 

In the second period, Wheddon regained the lead for Niverville. Boles drew the lone assist. Despite trailing 2-1, the Capitals led in shots 23-17 after two periods.

 

Edwards gave the Nighthawks a 3-1 lead at 14:34 of the third period. Evan Panzer and Dawson Zeller drew assists. The Nighthawks sealed the deal with an empty-net goal at 19:08 from Bernier.

 

Austin Dubinsky made 34 saves in the win for Niverville, earning him player of the game for the Nighthawks. Kolton Bourrett made 16 saves in the loss for the Capitals.

 

Congratulations to the Niverville Nighthawks on winning the Centennial Cup and going a perfect 6-0 through the preliminary round and playoff round. 

 

 

 

  

 

Western Capitals off to Centennial Cup final

 

The hometown magic continues for the Summerside Western Capitals.

Backed by a roaring crowd at Credit Union Place, the Western Capitals punched their ticket to the Centennial Cup final with an impressive 5-2 semifinal victory over Collège Français de Longueuil on Saturday night.  

Summerside controlled the pace early and opened the scoring midway through the first period when Henry Ouellet buried a feed from Matthew MacLean and Brennan Murphy at 9:10 to give the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission. The Caps outshot Longueuil 15-4 in the opening frame and carried that momentum into the second.  

The Quebec champions responded in the middle period, however, as Mathieu Tessier tied the game at 11:51 before the Capitals answered on the power play. Matthew MacLean restored the Summerside lead with a man-advantage marker just over two minutes later, wiring home a shot off a setup from Simon Mullen. Longueuil would not go away quietly, evening the game once again when Yoan Noiseux scored late in the second to make it 2-2 after 40 minutes.  

The third period belonged entirely to the Capitals.

Just 2:02 into the final frame, Elliott Mullen capitalized on another power play opportunity to put Summerside back in front for good. Only 35 seconds later, Brennan Murphy extended the lead to 4-2, finishing off a rush created by Maverick Hayes and Ryder Howatt and sending the Credit Union Place crowd into a frenzy.  

From there, the Caps locked things down defensively while goaltender Kolton Bourret turned aside 21 of 23 shots to earn the win. Jordan Shaw sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the final minutes as Summerside closed out a dominant 40-shot performance.  

Henry Ouellet, Brennan Murphy and Matthew MacLean each recorded a goal and an assist for the Western Capitals, while Maverick Hayes chipped in with two helpers. Summerside also went 2-for-5 on the power play and limited Longueuil to 0-for-3 with the man advantage.  

With the win, the Western Capitals will face the Niverville Nighthawks in the 2026 Centennial Cup final on Sunday May 17 at 7 p.m. AST.

Summerside and Niverville met on the first day of the tournament in the preliminary round on May 7. Niverville won the game 5-4 in overtime.

Full game summary can be found here.

Western Capitals defeat Bearcats to move onto semi-finals

 

 

Ryder Howatt scored twice, including the game winner, to help the host Summerside Western Capitals defeat the Truro Bearcats 3-1 in quarter-final action Friday night at the 2026 Centennial Cup in Summerside, P.E.I.

 

With the win, the Western Capitals advance to the semi-finals against College Francais du Longueuil of the LHJQ.

 

Howatt, broke a 1-1 tie just 50 seconds into the third period and that would be all the Capitals needed to get revenge on the Maritime Hockey League champions.

 

Kolton Bourrett made 16 saves in the win for the Capitals, but made a key save late in the third period to conserve the one-goal lead.

 

Howatt opened the scoring in the first period at 14:33 with his first goal of the tournament. Brennan Murphy and Justin Ouellette drew assists.

 

In the second period, the Bearcats tied the game at 11:35 with an unassisted marker from Eric Halliday. Shots were 20-10 in favour of the Western Capitals after two periods.

 

In the third period, with the Capitals up 2-1, Alexandre Guy sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 19:02 for his fourth goal of the tournament.

 

Louca Connolly made 21 saves in loss for Truro, who are now eliminated from the tournament.  

 

The Western Capitals' semi-final match-up against Longueuil will go Saturday May 16 at 7:30 p.m. AST.

 

Full game summary here. 

In earlier quarter-final action, the Toronto Patriots (OJHL) defeated the Canmore Eagles (AJHL) 7-3 and will play the Niverville Nighthawks (MJHL) in the 4 p.m. AST semi-final game on Saturday May 16.