CAPS BATTLE ST. MARY'S ACADEMY PREP TEAM  TO A TIE

   For the second day in a row the Caps outplayed their opponents the St. Mary's Academy Flames, a Sports School Prep Program from Winnipeg, especially 5 on 5 only to see a late 3rd period lead vanish on a late power play for the Flames with under 90 seconds remaining in the game leading to the tie.

   The Flames opened the scoring in the 1st period when the Caps had a defensive zone breakdown just under 2 minutes into the game after having 2-3 quality chances themselves to score. The Caps evened the score before the 1st intermission when Courtlyn Oswald scored on a wrist shot off of the rush, D Jordan Robertson picked up the only assist on the play. The 2nd period went back and forth and was the most even of the game as the momentum changed several times with the Flames outshooting the Caps 11-10. The teams however were unable to find the back of the net and went into the 2nd intermission still all even at 1-1.

   The score remained even until there was 5 minutes left in the game when Courtlyn Oswald notched her 2nd goal of the game and team leading 15th of the season off a perfect back door pass from Sheridan Oswald on the powerplay. It looked like the Caps would pick up a well earned Win however with a just under 2 minutes left the Caps were accessed a penalty for body-checking and appeared to be in control on the penalty kill until a bad bounce let a Flames forward put the puck in the open net.

   Jacey Schettler started in net for the Caps and was solid stopping 24-26 shots and was especially strong when the Caps were forced to kill a 5 on 3 for 1 minute and 40 seconds in the 2nd period. For the game the Caps only outshot the Flames 28-26 however in the 1st and 3rd periods outshot them 18-11.

   The Caps coaching staff was very happy with the fact the players were getting the puck to the net more and had numerous 2nd and 3rd chance opportunities however the players still missed the net 12-14 times on chances where they have to get the puck onto the net. The Coaching Staff was very pleased with the team's overall play especially the high intensity and agressive level of play they brought over the entire weekend.

CAPS SUFFER TOUGH LOSS

    The Caps controlled a large majority of the play and outshot the St. Mary's Academy Flames 29-21 only to give up a 1-0 lead in the last 6 minutes of the 3rd period including the winner with only 20 seconds remaining in the game. The Caps playing with a short bench of 13 skaters due to injuries outskated the Flames throughout most of the game however could not make the most of their opportunities only beating the St. Mary's netminder once.

  Caps Captain Callan Harland opened the scoring with just over 2 minutes left in the 2nd period, assists on the play were recorded by Maggie Girard and Megan Tully. Elisha Oswald played steady in the net for the Caps in taking the loss especially as they were forced to kill off 8 minor penalties including a 5 on 3. Several of the penalty calls were borderline in the opinion of the Caps coaching staff however the team needs to adapt to the refereeing as the game goes on. The Coaching Staff was happy with the intensity and effort displayed by the team especially with only 13 skaters. The team needs to continue to work on being stronger in their own end especially along the boards and getting the puck to the net and driving for rebounds in the offensive zone.