This was Campbellton’s fifth matchup with their closest rivals and the Tigers were determined not to allow the Timberwolves to skate away with a win as they had in their last encounter at the Memorial Civic Center. Although the Tigers had won three of four, they knew that Miramichi’s goalie, Tanner Somers, has made them work extremely hard for every goal. They were also aware that the T-wolves are in a tough struggle with the St. Stephen Aces for the final playoff spot in the North and so would offer stiff competition Friday night.
Miramichi got on the board first near the seven minute mark of the first period when Eric Pelletier finished off a slick passing play. Their lead lasted just over two minutes when Kyle Petten got the puck from Charles-William Gagné near the half boards and skated quickly to the top of the slot from where he rifled a shot along the ice that slid under the pads of Somers. The teams were unable to score in the second half of the period and they headed into the first intermission tied at one apiece.
In the second both teams generated a number of chances but it wasn’t until the 11:16 mark that the Tigers finally managed to get another into the twine. The play started with a shot by Drew Toner which was stopped by Somers and then cleared to the corner. When a defender tried to clear the puck out of the zone, Matt warner intercepted it and fired a shot towards the net, The puck hit a player and then ended up in front of Toner who was in front of the crease. In one quick motion he shot it over the blocker of the goalie to give the Tigers the lead. As it turned out, it was the game winner as Marc-Antoine Berube-Jalbert in Campbellton’s net turned aside all the Timberwolves’ attempts in the second and third frames. In total. Berube-Jalbert made twenty-six saves for his second win as a Tiger.
The teams kept the fans on the edge of their seats for most of the third as the Tigers held on to their one goal advantage. It was not until there were only ninety seconds left in the game that the Tigers gave themselves some breathing room. with the face-off deep in Miramichi’s zone, Pascal Valcourt tapped the puck to Colton Perry who turned and backhanded the puck past the goalie’s glove and into the back of the net for the final score of the game.
Toner and valcourt earned first and second game stars respectively and Somers was named third star.