The Caps travelled to Winnipeg to play the Avros on Thursday, one of Hockey Winnipeg`s 2 new teams in the MFMHL only to come out on the wrong end of a tough hard fought 4-3 decision.
The Caps jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st period only to see a veteran Avros squad surge to a 3-1 2nd period lead. In the 3rd however the Caps would fight all the way back to make it a 3-3 contest before surrendering a goal with just over a minute to go the game. The Caps were forced to kill off 7 powerplays awarded the Avros including 2 - 5 on 3 situations compared to the one powerplay awarded the Caps. This part of the game was very successful for the Caps as they gave up nothing shorthanded although the unevenness in the calls kept taking momentum away from the Caps as they appeared to be the better team 5 on 5 when they could utilize their speed.
The Caps showed improvement from their last game in defensive zone coverage although the 4th goal was a breakdown. Elisha Oswald continues to provide the team with solid goaltending while veteran and Top 25 candidate Jacey Schettler continues to come back from injury.
THe Caps got 2 goals and an assist from Courtlyn Oswald while Callan Harland netted the 3rd Caps marker. Sheridan Oswald picked up 2 assists while Meike Mielleur had 1.
The Caps now are free of game action until next Friday when they travel to play Eastman and then return home to Portage for a rematch with the Winnipeg Ice who they tied 2-2 in a non-league game.
CAPS LOSE TO DEFENDING MFMHL AND PROVINCIAL CHAMPS
The Caps came out on the wrong end of a 5-2 score vs. the defending MFMHL Champs Pembina Valley Hawks. The young Caps showed they could skate with the Champs however continued to make to many mistakes which the Hawks punished them for scoring 4 goals on turnovers by the Caps. The Caps jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Sheridan Oswald scored her first of the season, assists went to Courtlyn Oswald and Meike Meilleur. The lead did not last as the Hawks scored 2 before the end of the 1st period taking a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
The Caps again came out flying to start the 2nd period and tied the score at 2-2 when Defense Tamara McVannel scored her first of season with assists going to Kelsey Desilets and Taylor Boehlig. The Hawks however responded with 2 more in the 2nd period taking a 4-2 advantage into the 2nd intermission.
The 3rd period again saw the Caps come out strong but they could not convert on 3 powerplay opportunities before the Hawks scored with about 6 minutes to go to seal the victory.
The coaching staff saw some positives in the loss as the Caps have shown they can skate with the top teams however must now work on eliminating defesnsive and neutral zone mistakes plus continue to improve on their special team play especially the powerplay.
The Caps next game is Thursday vs. the Winnipeg Avros who may be the strongest team they will have played to date and will be a real test. The game is scheduled for 7:15 at the Keith Bodley Arena in Winnipeg.
Callan Harland and Maggie Girard returned to the lineup after missing the weekend game while particiapting in Hockey Manitoba`s Program of Excellence Fall Camp of Top 25 - Both players represented the Caps at an extremely high level - GOOD LUCK WITH THE FINAL SELECTION PROCESS!!!
CAPS LOSE SEASON OPENER
The Caps traveled to Hartney on Saturday for their MFMHL opener only to come out on the wrong end of a 3-1 score. Although the Caps outshot Westman 24-20 with a 12-3 advantage in the 3rd period they could not take advantage of their opportunities. Courtlyn Oswald scored in the 1st period with assists going to Kelsey Desilets and Taylor Boehlig to give the Caps their only lead of the game. The 2nd period belonged to the Wildcats as they netted 2 goals to take a 2-1 advantage into the intermission. The Caps came out with more intensity and were controlling the play in the 3rd period however with 8 minutes to go a turn over and redirected puck that trickled past Elisha Oswald led to the Westman 3rd goal. The Caps were unable to find the back of the net again even with an extra skater.
The key to the game was that the Caps were unable to generate any offense off their power play and the Wildcats scored twice on theirs for the difference in the game, the game itself was very evenly played with each team having their strong stretches.
The Coaching staff was not happy with the amount of pucks generated towards the Wildcat net as on numerous occassions the Caps passed up shooting opportuities in high scoring areas in the offensive zone to make one more pass or move only to come away with nothing. The Caps will working on their Special Teams which need to get better and stressing getting the puck to the net.
NEXT ACTION IS MONDAY OCT. 3 vs. Pembina valley @ the PCU Centre.
CAPS BATTLE TO 2-2 DRAW WITH WINNIPEG ICE
The Caps played their second game of the 2011-12 season vs. a very fast and hard working Winnipeg Ice, one of the 2 new "AAA" Midget Teams formed by Hockey \Winnipeg to play in the Manitoba Female Midget "AAA" Hockey League.
The Caps started slow and gave up the first goal of the game just 3 minutes into the first period. The score remained that way until Alyson Vercaigne netted her first of the season with 7 minutes to go in the second period and send the game into the intermission tied at 1-1. Taylor Boehlig and Kelsey Desilets picked up assists on the goal.
Courtlyn Oswald scored her 3rd goal of the season 2 minutes into the third period to give the Caps their only lead of the game. Meike Meilleur and Hannah Dalrymple picked up helpers on the goal. The lead lasted until the 9 minute mark of the period when the Ice tied it up at 2-2. This would be all the scoring in the game and the hard fought contest ended up in a tie which was a fitting end.
Elisha Oswald was solid in the Caps net stopping 33 of 35 shots fired her way while the Caps answered back with 33 shots of their own. Although the Caps were outshot by a couple they had the advantage in quality scoring chances and on several occassions just missed adding to their total including 4 pucks off goal posts.
The coaching staff was very pleased with the team's effort for most of the game after starting slow in the first 7-8 minutes. The Caps were good on the penalty kill and although did not score on their powerplays showed good puck control and movement creating good scoring chances. All 3 lines were effective for the second game in a row. The team will continue to need to improve moving the puck at a faster rate and playing solid hockey in all zones on the ice.
