Playoff hockey has finally returned to Newfoundland, as the first round of the 2026 QMJHL Playoffs are underway.
Entering the playoffs with high expectations, the Regiment would split both games against the Eagles, as the series is now tied 1-1.
Regiment drop game one 3-2
In front of a packed Mary Browns Centre Thursday night, the Regiment didn’t exactly start this game on time.
For the first five minutes of the game, Cape Breton had Newfoundland pressed in their own zone, applying a ton of pressure early.
However, the Eagles would kill their own momentum by taking two penalties back to back, and Newfoundland took advantage.
Captain Justin Larose scored the first playoff goal in Newfoundland Regiment playoff history on the powerplay, giving the home team an early lead.
Aside from that early goal, Newfoundland didn’t have a lot of momentum during this game. Maddex Marmulak scored the other goal for Newfoundland, which at the time regained their lead, but that was also short lived as Cape Breton would tie it for a second time.
Caden Kelly would score the game winner in what was a disastrous third period for Regiment that saw them be completely shut down by Eagles goaltender Felix Hamel and the rest of the team.
Post game, head coach and general manager Gordie Dwyer told reporters “Cape Breton did a really good job of slowing us down and clogging some lanes.”
“I thought for us there were opportunities to push the pace a little bit more and be a little more connected on our exits through the neutral zone.”
Regiment win game two 6-2, bounce back big time
Newfoundland had a lot on the line entering game two. Heading to Cape Breton down 2-0 in the series would have been a disaster, and their backs would have been completely against the wall.
This game felt different from the night prior, with the Regiment overall looking a lot better in the opening frame, proven by a Blake Pilgrim-Edwards goal to open their scoring early.
The second period started off even better, as Dawson Sharkey sniped one by Hamel in the opening two minutes of the period, before Justin Larose would add to that tally two minutes later.
Up 3-0, Newfoundland was on a high, but that quickly changed, as Dawson Sharkey received a five minute major and a match penalty for a dangerous blindside hit on Eagles forward Eliot L’Italien.
The subsequent five minute powerplay allowed the Eagles to get back in the game, as Reece Peitzsche scored his first of the playoffs. Later in the period, Raoul Boilard would score his second of the playoffs, cutting the deficit to only 3-2 entering the third period.
Newfoundland regained their momentum from early in the second and exploded offensively, scoring a total of four goals in the frame, with Justin Larose and Blake Pilgrim-Edwards each scoring their second goals of the game. Alexis Michaud also added four assists and was the first star of the game.
Series shifts to Cape Breton
The next three games of the best of seven series will take place in Cape Breton. Should either team win all three games in Cape Breton, the series will end in five games.
However, if each team wins at least once, the series would come back to St. John’s for a potential game six and seven.
Game three is Tuesday night at 7:30pm Newfoundland time.
