Capitals advance to Centennial Cup final

Mike Bernard/Hockey Canada

The Summerside Western Capitals will play for a national championship on home ice Sunday evening.

Former Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Matthew MacLean scored and had an assist in the Capitals' 5-2 win over Collège Français de Longueuil on Saturday to earn a spot in the Centennial Cup championship game.

The Capitals will face Manitoba's Niverville Nighthawks for the national title. Game time is 7 p.m. at Summerside's Credit Union Place.

Summerside, who were eliminated in the semifinals of the Maritime Junior Hockey League playoffs, are 4-1-1 at the tournament. The Nighthawks, meanwhile, are 5-0-0.

#CentennialCup SF2 | And they’re from Prince Edward Island! Matthew MacLean puts the @SsideCapitals ahead 2-1 late in the 2nd! pic.twitter.com/9JVyffeQeP

— CJHL (@cjhlhockey) May 16, 2026

Niverville beat Summerside 5-4 in overtime in the preliminary round.

MacLean has a goal and three assists in the tournament. Former Sea Dogs goaltender Justin Robinson has appeared in two games, posting a 3.56 goals against average and a .879 save percentage.

The Capitals won the Centennial Cup in 1997 – a team that was coached by Gerard Gallant. They appeared in the championship game in 2013 – which was also hosted in Summerside – but fell 3-1 to the Brooks Bandits.

An Atlantic Canadian team has not won the Centennial Cup since the Halifax Oland Exports in 2002.

A few other news and notes...

• The Chicoutimi Saguenéens will look to win their first QMJHL championship since 1994 on Sunday when they host the Moncton Wildcats in Game 6 of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final. Game time is 8 p.m. and can be seen on TSN.
• A Game 7, if needed, would take place Tuesday night in Moncton.
• The Everett Silvertips captured their first WHL championship on Friday, defeating the Prince Albert Raiders 7-2 to take the series in five games. The Silvertips join the host Kelowna Rockets and OHL champion Kitchener Rangers as confirmed participants at this year's Memorial Cup, which begins Friday.
• Joe Veleno and the Montreal Canadiens fell 8-3 to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, meaning that series will require a Game 7 on Monday night in Buffalo. Veleno had two hits in 9:59 of ice time.