YARMOUTH, N.S. ā They came close last year. This year they finished the job.
The Yarmouth Mariners are the 2018-2019 MHL Canadian Tire Cup league champions after sweeping the Campbellton Tigers in four games.
The Mariners captured the championship title with a 7-6 overtime victory over Campbellton in Campbellton on Friday night.
The Yarmouth Mariners rallied from a two-goal deficit four times during the game.Ā After coming back to tie the game with just over a minute left in the third period (that goal was scored by Logan Timmons), Connor Peveril, assisted by Derrick Johnson, scored the OT winner in sudden-death overtime.
Here it is. Connor Peveril in overtime to clinch the @CanadianTire Cup for @MarinersHockey, 7-6 over @CTonTigerHockey. What a game. What a finish. pic.twitter.com/HJOusyFibx
ā The MHL (@THEMHL) April 20, 2019
Unlike the first three games in the series in which the Tigers had only scored one goal and the Mariners had notched two shutouts, this was a high scoring game with the two teams scoring more goals in Game 4Ā ā 13 goals overall ā than in the first three games combined, which had seen 9 goals.
Last year the Mariners had lost the league final to the Edmundston Blizzard in Game 6 of the league final. This year the Mariners are heading to the eastern Canadian Jr. A championship as the MHL Canadian Tire Cup champions when the Fred Page Cup is held in Amherst May 1-5.
And unlike Game 3 on the road which was a 3-0 shutout for Yarmouth, Game 4 was an offensive battle. Campbellton knew coming into the game that their season could be ending with this game and the Tigers put up a fight to try and stave off elimination.
FIRST PERIOD
Campbellton went ahead 2-0 in the first period, with the Tigersā second goal coming on a 5-on-3 powerplay. The Mariners cut that lead in half with just 28 secondsĀ in the first frame with aĀ shot from the high slot shot by Cade Neilson (Chris Goreham, Landon Quinney).
SECOND PERIOD
Campbellton extended its lead 3-1 at 7:21Ā in the second period but Yarmouthās Zachery Bennett (Miguel Poirier) who went top corner cut the Tigers lead to 3-2 at 10:40. Campellton wasted little time doubling their lead, however, taking a 4-2 lead 11Ā seconds later at 10:51.
Yarmouth rebounded to tie the game 4-4 in the second period, scoring goals at 12:12Ā and 14:45. Scoring for the Mariners were Brent Broaders unassisted and Andrew Martell (Connor Peveril, Shawn Guison).
THIRD PERIOD
Campbellton took a 5-4 lead around four minutes into the third period, and then went ahead 6-4 at the 10:46 mark of the third period.
Mariners goalie Tyler Caseley made some big saves later in the period to prevent Campbellton from extending their lead further. Across the ice Campbelltonās goalie Tristan Gray also had some big saves to prevent the Mariners from clawing their way back onto the scoreboard, but he couldnāt stop them completely. With around three-and-a-half minutesĀ left in the third the Mariners made it a 6-5 game on a goal by Logan Timmons (Andrew Martell, Brett Crossley.)
The Mariners pulled Caseley from the net in the final minute-and-a-half for the extra attacker. It paid off with Logan Timmons, assisted by Noah McMullin, scoring the 6-6 tie goal with just over a minute remaining in the game. The action traded back and forth to both ends after that, but nothing was solved before the final buzzer in regulation.Ā
SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME
The game went into a 10-minutes sudden death overtime period with Campbellton nearly pushing the series to a Game 5, firing a shot off the post. But it was Connor Peveril with the game winner, giving the Mariners the championship.
Final shots on net in the game were 40-36 for Campbellton.
The Mariners celebrated on the ice, but also had families and fans in the stands ā including many fans from Yarmouth who had made the more than 825-km trek to support their team and be there ā they hoped ā for the win. For those who went, it was worth the drive.Ā
MATT BARRON NAMED MVP
Yarmouthās Matt Barron was named playoff MVP following the game. The MHL says his 17 total points were tied for the league lead with teammate Andrew Martell, while Barron's 11 assists were second only to teammates Brett Crossley and Noah McMullin. A consistent threat throughout the Canadian Tire Cup Playoffs, Barron was held off the scoresheet just twice in 14 games.
PAST FINALS
The Yarmouth Mariners last won the league championship in 2008 when their defeated the Woodstock Slammers in six games.
They came very close again to the top prize in 2012, but lost to the Slammers this time in triple overtime in Game 7. As mentioned, last year they fell to the Blizzard in Game 6 of the final.
The Mariners attended the Fred Page Cup as league champions in 2008 when it was held in New Glasgow. The teamĀ hosted the Fred Page Cup in 2005 ā just three years into their club franchise in Yarmouth ā but fell to the Hawkesbury Hawks in the championship game.Ā
SUCCESSFUL SEASON
The Mariners had a very successful 2018-2019 season, finishing the regular season in first place in their division. Yarmouth swept the Truro Bearcats in four games in the semifinal series and defeated South Shore in six games to win the Eastlink South Division championship.
In this series with Campbellton the Mariners had a 3-0 win in Game 1;Ā a 2-1 win in Game 2;Ā a 3-0 win in Game 3 and the 7-6 win in Game 4.
After coming back to Yarmouth from Campbellton with their league hardware, the Marinersā next road trip will be to Amherst for the Fred Page Cup.
The Mariners willĀ join the host Amherst Ramblers at the Fred Page, as well as the yet-to-be-determined league winners in the CCHL and LHJQ.
Congratulations, @MarinersHockey. pic.twitter.com/07blZVVOvJ
ā The MHL (@THEMHL) April 20, 2019
Congratulations ā¦@MarinersHockeyā© on winning the 2019 ā¦@CanadianTireā© Cup! Good luck at the ā¦@CJHL_FPCā© ! Also congrats to Matt Barron on winning the Playoff MVP! #MHLProud pic.twitter.com/e3IsA2jN44
ā Dave Ritcey (@DaveRitcey) April 20, 2019
Congratulations @MarinersHockey Capturing the @THEMHL Canadian Tire Cup tonight advancing to the Fred Page Cup May 1-5 @TownofAmherstNS The Mariners join host @AmherstRamblers The League Final series @TheCCHL @LHJAAAQ are still in progress. #FPC... pic.twitter.com/4NoBjLEhfD
ā Amherst Ramblers (@AmherstRamblers) April 20, 2019
Feels great eh Mitch pic.twitter.com/L2CELfAIjK
ā Yarmouth Mariners (@MarinersHockey) April 20, 2019
Congratulations to @lauriebarron10 and the @MarinersHockey on capturing @THEMHL @CanadianTire Cup! Best of luck at the @CJHL_FPC
ā Weeks Crushers (@weekscrushers) April 20, 2019
Congrats to one of my former Jr teams the @MarinersHockey on Winning the Canadian Tire Cup, Happy for the community who are one of the best fan bases for Junior hockey in Canada #fishtank
ā Matthew Wright (@MattWright89HA) April 20, 2019
Congrats to @MarinersHockey on winning the @THEMHL championship!
ā Colin Campbell (@11colincampbell) April 20, 2019
Yarmouth Mariners captured a berth in the Fred Page Cup capturing the Canadian Tire Cup (MHL Champions) Yarmouth will arrive in Amherst April 30th & play game 1, Wednesday May 1 at 3pm. More info https://t.co/ocNHfBj6HD #FPC
ā TownofAmherstNS (@TownofAmherstNS) April 20, 2019
MHL Champions 2019. - Yarmouth Mariners and my boys Brett and Brady! So proud! What a team! Onward to the Eastern Canadian Championships! Bring on the Fred Page Cup! pic.twitter.com/DQvnhEsYS8
ā Brad Crossley (@bcrossley66) April 20, 2019