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N.B. Major U18 post-season nears end of first round

The Fredericton Office Interior Caps and the Saint John Vito's are both one loss away from playoff elimination

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The Saint John Vito’s and the Fredericton Office Interior Caps have both been backed into a corner early in the New Brunswick/P.E.I. Major U18 Hockey League playoffs.

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Both teams are just one loss away from being eliminated. The Vito’s play Game 4 of their semifinal series against the Moncton Rallye Motors Nissan Flyers on Friday in Saint John.

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The Contendo Northern Moose have a chance to end their series against Fredericton on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Fredericton.

In the first semifinal matchup, the Flyers have dominated Saint John. They began with an offensive explosion, beating the Vito’s 11-1 in Game 1 before winning Game 2 7-2, and on Wednesday, the Flyers won 5-2.

Moncton has outshot Saint John 147-42 in the first three games of the series. Austin Sanchez and Olivier LeBlanc have been major contributors for the Flyers, each putting up six points with two goals and four assists.

Flyers’ goalies Simon Cormier and Loic Nadeau have maintained a strong presence in goal. Combined, they’ve only given up five goals in the first three games, although they haven’t faced much from the Vito’s offence so far.

After the Flyers finished runnerup at provincials last season, they’ve come out roaring this year.

The Contendo Northern Moose are up 6-0 in their semifinal series against the Fredericton Office Interior Caps.
The Contendo Northern Moose are up 6-0 in their semifinal series against the Fredericton Office Interior Caps. Photo by Submitted

While the first series has been mostly one-sided, the other has been closer than what the series score shows.

Game 1 ended with a 4-3 win for the Moose with the game-winning goal scored by Alexandre Lavoie with less than two minutes left in the game.

Lavoie continued his scoring fortunes in Game 2, scoring two. But Fredericton nearly came back from down 5-2 in the third period with three goals, but the Moose scored another to seal the deal.

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Game 3 on Tuesday was a more decisive victory for the Moose, beating the Caps 4-1.

In total Lavoie leads the playoffs in goals with four.

The two semfinal winners will face each other in the provincial finals to decide who goes to the 2024 U18 AAA Atlantics in Lantz, Nova Scotia, going from April 4-7.

Timberwolves captain captures team season scoring record

History was made in front of 825 spectators at the Miramichi Civic Centre on Sunday.

During the Miramichi Timberwolves’ 5-3 win over the Edmundston Blizzard in Maritime Junior Hockey League action, Timberwolves captain Ludovic Dufort set a franchise record as a result of his hat-trick performance.

By scoring his 44th goal of the year, the 20-year-old set the team’s single-season scoring record. The record was held for 19 years by Andre Gill, who scored 43 goals in the 2004-2005 season.

His high-scoring night also placed Dufort in the MHL lead in goals with 46. Carter McCluskey of the Fredericton Red Wings is right behind him with 45 as of Friday.

“When I got here last year, I’d never think about it, and then it happened this year, for sure I’m proud of it,” said Dufort. “But now, we got to focus on the playoffs.”

Dufort managed to put up his 46 goals in 50 games while also posting 35 assists for 81 points, putting him third in the league in points. The Timberwolves captain did this while leading the club to a playoff spot with a 30-15-3-2 record, the fourth-best team in the league.

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After one season with the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the QMJHL, he joined the Timberwolves last season where he posted 18 goals, and 43 points in 41 games.

This season, he more than doubled his scoring production, and nearly doubled his total points.

“I think we’re just all on the same page, everybody has one goal in mind, we all want to win,” he said. “On my side, I just try to do what works for me. I don’t change my routine I just keep (it) all same thing and if it works, I keep doing it.”

The MHL regular season is coming to an end with nearly all playoffs spots being filled. Four New Brunswick teams have clinched playoff spots including Fredericton, Miramichi, the West Kent Steamers, and the EastLink North division champions, the Edmundston Blizzard.

The season will conclude on Sunday with just three games left in the season for New Brunswick teams after Friday’s matches.

On Saturday, the Timberwolves will host the Campbellton Tigers at 7 p.m.

Fredericton will have a final home game on Sunday, taking on the Grand Falls Rapids at 2 p.m. The final game will be the same day as West Kent plays Edmundston at home at 3 p.m.

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