Dartmouth midgets avoid elimination

The Dartmouth Major Midgets clipped the Cape Breton West Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday night to force a deciding game in their best-of-five Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League quarter-final series.

In Port Hood, Matthew Graham, Kyle MacDonald and Kelly Bent scored for the visitors, who finished in second place in the regular season, 29 points ahead of the seventh-place Islanders.

Garrett Lambke’s power-play goal for Cape Breton West at 4:37 of the third period tied the game at 1-1 before MacDonald netted the eventual winner about eight minutes later.

Bent added an insurance marker with 6:51 remaining.

Game 5 is Thursday night at the Dartmouth Sportsplex.

Penguins beat Royals in Junior playoff opener

Leon Knockwood, a call-up from the major midget ranks, had a goal and an assist as the East Hants Penguins shaded the Windsor Royals 3-1 on Tuesday night in Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League playoff action.

In Lantz, Matt Anthony and Matt Doudelet also scored for the Penguins in the opener of their best-of-seven Fred Fox Division semifinal.

Braden Mercier was the lone marksman for the Royals.

Summerside shades Bridgewater 3-2

League-leading scorer Mike Szmatula had a goal and an assist to lead the Summerside Western Capitals to a 3-2 win over the Bridgewater Lumberjacks in MJHL action Tuesday night in Summerside, P.E.I.

Blaize Bridges and Brock Morrison, with the game winner at 15:49 of the third period, also scored for Summerside (25-19-5).

Szmatula has 84 points, three up on Yarmouth’s Colin Campbell in the league scoring race.

Michael Crawley and Shawn Boudreau answered for the Lumberjacks (15-34-1).

Datsyuk out two weeks after knee surgery

DETROIT (CP) — Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk is expected to be out of the lineup for two weeks after undergoing successful arthroscopic knee surgery.

The team said the 33-year-old Russian had fragments from his right knee removed on Tuesday at the Detroit Medical Centre.

Datsyuk leads the Red Wings with 59 points (16 goals, 43 assists) in 59 games this season.