CAPS SEASON COMES TO AN END
With their backs to the wall and facing elimination while playing with only 12 skaters the Caps played one their best games of the season in losing 2-1 to the defending MFMHL and National Champion Pembina Valley Hawks. The Caps fell behind 1-0 in the first period however out shot and out chanced the Hawks just missing on several great scoring opportunities as they worked the cycle down low very well and utilized their defense to generate quality scoring chances.
The Caps continued to apply pressure in the 2nd period and it finally paid off when they scored the equalizer on a slap shot from Megan Tully off the point after she received a great D to D pass from Breanna Murner with Brooke-Lyn Riley picking up the 2nd assist. The two teams battled through to the 2nd intermission tied at 1-1 and this score stood up until late in the 3rd period when the Hawks scored on a power play with just over 36 seconds left in the game.
The game was a back and forth contest between 2 good teams with only 4 minor penalties called through the first 2 periods however in the last 10 minutes of the game the referee called a total of 7 penalties which changed the flow of the game and led to a 4 on 3 situation for the Hawks when they finally scored the winning goal. Robin Thiessen was again very solid in net for the Caps stopping 25 of 27 shots fired her way with several huge saves during penalty kills.
The Coaching staff was extremely pleased with the play and proud of the of the effort put forth by the entire team during a series against the defending National Champions where they could have easily one more than the 1 game they did. They played the Hawks even 5 on 5 all series long. The Caps have had an outstanding season and set a record for wins and showed they can compete with any team in the MFMHL.
Several of the Caps (8 in total) have received invitations to Hockey Manitoba's Program of Excellence to tryout for a spot on Team Manitoba. Watch for continuing Updates!
GREAT SEASON GIRLS!!!!
CAPS LOSE GAME 3 ON THE ROAD
The Caps traveled to Morden on Monday and were unable to duplicate their result from Sunday that saw them defeat the Pembina Valley Hawks as they came out on the wrong end of a 5-1 score.
The Caps fell behind early as the Hawks scored 2 goals in the first 5 minutes of the game with one being a power play marker. From this point on the Caps started to take some control of the game and would go into the intermission behind 2-0 but with some momentum.
The Caps came out with tons of energy in the 2nd period showing a great deal of determination and just under 3 minutes into the period scored to make it 2-1 when Taylor Boehlig banged in a rebound, assists on the play went to Kantara Robertson and Liz Stewart. This sparked the Caps even more and they would carry the play and out shot the Hawks 15-3 in the period and were very unlucky not to score an equalizer before the intermission as they also hit 2 posts. The 2nd intermission score was 2-1 with the Caps feeling good about the way the game was progressing.
Heading into the 3rd period the Caps had played a solid game and had been called for only one penalty early in the 1st period. This however all changed in the 3rd period as the referees who had called a total of 4 penalties in 2 periods now nailed the Caps for 5 in a row sending them to the PK starting early in the period when they were forced to kill off a 5 on 3 taking them out of the flow of the game. The officiating appeared to change and this hurt the Caps who now lost the momentum and fell behind by 2 after a power play goal. The Hawks took advantage notching 3 goals in the period leading to the 5-1 finish.
The coaching staff was not happy with the apparent change in call making by the officials but was very pleased with the overall play and compete level of the Caps especially 5 on 5 as they appeared to be the better team through most of the first period and the entire 2nd period until the 3rd period. The Caps now need to regroup as they host the Hawks on Saturday March 16 in a must win situation as their season is on the line trailing their best of 5 semi-final 2-1, the game is at the PCU Centre with puck drop at 2:30 p.m.
CAPS EVEN SERIES WITH PEMBINA VALLEY
The Caps hosted the Pembina Valley Hawks on Sunday March 10 at the PCU Centre in what could have been considered a must win situation in game 2 of their best of 5 MFMHL semi-final series and came away with a huge 1-0 victory. The Caps knew they could not afford to fall behind the defending MFMHL and Canadian Champions 2-0 in their best of 5 series and played a solid playoff game getting stronger throughout the contest.
Led by the shutout netminding of Robin Thiessen and a power play goal by Chantal Gamache the Caps evened their series with the Hawks at 1 game each.
The 1st period saw the defending champs out shoot the Caps 6-2 as the two teams played a tight checking period and headed into the intermission tied 0-0. This trend would continue in the 2nd period although the Caps seemed to gain some momentum with a few more scoring chances and continued to limit the Hawks opportunities although Thiessen was called on to make several key saves during penalty kills in the first two periods. Shots on net again favored the Hawks 8-7.
The 3rd period however saw the Caps come up with some of the best hockey they have played controlling the last 20 minutes while out shooting the Hawks 15-3 and creating quality scoring chances both 5 on 5 and during their power play. This paid off when Chantal Gamache finally banged in a rebound after the Caps maintained some good pressure with a man advantage for the only goal of the game. The puck was paseed back to the point by Madison Dreger with defense Megan Tully letting go a low hard shot through a screen that caused a rebound scramble that Gamache cashed in for the game winner.
The 2 teams battled hard through the entire 60 minutes with the Caps taking 5 minor penalties compared to the Hawks 6. During the game the Caps continued to get stronger and will look to build on that for game 3 which takes place Monday
CAPS LOSE FIRST VS. THE HAWKS
The Caps tavelled to Holland and played the Hawks even for 2 out of 3 periods however that was not enough to come away with a positive result in their first game of the MFMHL Semi-finals losing by a 6-2 score. The Caps controlled a great deal of the 1st period however both teams had a tough time generating a lot of offense with the Caps outshooting their hosts 6-4 heading into the intermission all even at 0-0 on the scoreboard.
The 2nd period saw the ice get tilted in the Hawks favor as the Caps had to kill off 5 straight penalties including a lengthy 5-3 on very questionable calls. The result was the Hawks notching 4 goals in the period although the Caps only gave up one power play goal it took them totally out of the game allowing the Hawks to take advantage. The Hawks generated over 20 shots at the Caps net with 18 being recorded on the Power Plays sending the teams into the 2nd intermission with the Hawks leading 4-0.
The game again changed in the 3rd period with only one minor penalty called against the Hawks allowing the teams to compete and leading to an even period with both teams notching 2 goals for the 6-2 final result. Sheridan and Courtlyn Oswald scored for the Caps with assists going to Autumn Garnham and Chantal Gamache.
The coaching staff was pleased with the teams overall play however stressed they need the players to battle through the physical Hawks at a higher level in the return match up on Sunday March 11 at 1:30 pm at the PCU Centre in Portage.
CAPS MOVE ONTO MFMHL SEMI-FINALS
The Caps earned the right to play in the MFMHL semi-finals with a tough 4-1 win over a tenacious Eastman Selects team giving them a 3-0 result in their best of 5 playoff series.
The two teams battled through a 0-0 first period where neither team could get control of the game with the Caps outshooting the Selects 9-5. In the 2nd period it was the Selects getting on the scoreboard first when they cashed in on a 5 on 3 power play late in the period. THe Caps controlled most of the period firing 16 shots at the Eastman net and only giving up 6 with the all the shots coming on the power play with just over 2 minutes to go in the period.
The Caps came out strong in the third period and equalized on a power play just under 3 minutes into the frame when Courtlyn Oswald scored her 30th goal of the season with assists going to Autumn Garnham and Chantal Gamache. The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 until there was 1 minute and 32 seconds left in the game when Chantal Gamache banged in a rebound on a 5 on 3 power play giving the Caps the lead for the first time in the game, assists on the play were picked up by Garnham and Courtlyn Oswald. The Caps scored 2 more goals into the empty net as the Selects never showed any quit as they pulled their netminder and pushed to tie the score. Gamache notched her 2nd of the night and 25th of the season with assists going to Garnham and Courtlyn Oswald before Breanna Murner scored from the Caps blueline into the empty net with Taylor Boehlig assisting.
Robin Thiessen picked up the win stopping 15 of 16 shots fired her way with several huge saves during Caps penalty kills.
Although not the best game the Caps played in the series or in the past 3 weeks the coaches were happy with the way the team battled and found a way to win against a very hard working and determined Selects squad. The Caps now wait to see who they will match up against in the MFMHL semi-final round. The Winnipeg Avros currently lead the Yellowhead Chiefs 2-0 in their series while the Westman Wildcats currently hold the same 2-0 lead vs. the Winnipeg Ice. The teams will be reseeded after this round with 1st place Pembina Valley getting the lowest seed remaining.
Dates, Times and Locations for the Semi-finals will be determined after all series are completed in this round. Watch the MFMHL and Caps Website for updates.
CAPS WIN GAME 2 ON THE ROAD
The Caps traveled to Ste. Anne and played one of their best road games of the season in defeating the Eastman Selects 4-1 to take a 2-0 series lead in their best of 5 MFMHL playoff matchup. 4 different players found the back of the net as Caps had a balanced attack throughout the game that saw them generate 51 shots at the Selects net.
The Caps struck first as defense Autumn Garnham scored on a low shot after moving in from the point, Breanna Murner and Brooke-Lyn Riley picked up the assists on the play. The Caps dominated the 1st period outshooting Eastman18-4 however the Selects would fight back before the end of the period to score on a rare Caps breakdown that allowed their hosts to equalize sending the teams into the intermission tied at 1-1.
The Caps had to kill off a penalty to start the 2nd period and once it was over found their offence again outscoring the Selects 2-0 in the period and taking a 3-1 lead into the break. The Caps second goal was a great 3-way passing play with Courlyn Oswald putting the puck into the back of the net after receiving a great touch pass from Chantal Gamache after Sheridan Oswald gave her the puck on a nice feed in the slot. Sheridan Oswald then put the Caps up by 2 when she scored on a backhand shot from the slot that eluded the Selects netminder, Megan Tully and Courtlyn Oswald picked up assists on the play.
The Caps again controlled the 3rd period which may have been their best in the series so far as they out played and out shot the Selects 24-3 which led to their 4th goal. Chantal Gamache scored the goal when she put the puck in the back of the net while on her back during a scramble in front of the Selects net. Autumn Garnham and Tamara McVannel picked up assists on the goal.
Elisha Oswald picked up the win in net for the Caps and although was not busy made several keys saves especially during Selects power plays when the score was still within a goal.
CAPS PICK UP WIN IN FIRST MFMHL PLAYOFF GAME
Led by the 3 point performances of Sheridan Oswald and Tamara McVannel plus the shutout goaltending of Robin Thiessen the Caps started off the MFMHL playoffs with a solid 6-0 win over the Eastman Selects.
The Caps jumped into a 3-0 first period lead on goals by Megan Tully, Madison Dreger and Courtlyn Oswald in a 3 minute span late in the period as they outshot the Selects 19-5. Tully scored her goal on a perfectly placed point shot after receiving a pass from Sheridan Oswald. Courtlyn Oswald put the Caps up 2-0 less than a minute later when she took a great outlet pass from defense Autumn Garnham to go in untouched on a breakaway to beat the Selects netminder over her glove hand. Dreger then put the Caps up 3-0 10 seconds later when she went hard to the net and pounced on a rebound off a hard slapshot from Brooke-Lyn Riley.
The second period saw the game even out with the Caps outshooting the Selects 9-5 however only managing to outscore the Selects 1-0 in the period to take a 4-0 lead into the second intermission. The Caps goal came from a Tamara McVannel screen shot from the point after she received a pass from Sheridan Oswald.
The third period saw the Caps come out with a higher intensity level controlling a majority of the play and outshooting the Selects 15-4. This pressure resulted in 2 goals to leave the final result at 6-0 for the Caps. Sheridan Oswald scored the Caps 5th goal on a breakaway from her own blueline beating the Selects goalie with a great move in close, Tamara McVannel picked up an assist on the goal. Madison Dreger picked up her second goal of the game when she came out of the Caps Players Box as the extra skater on a delayed penalty call against the Selects and went in on a breakaway after receiving a perfect stretch pass from Tamara McVannel.
Although not extremely busy Robin Thiessen made several key saves especially on two 5 on 3 power plays awarded to the Selects.
The Coaching Staff was pleased with the overall effort of the entire team and liked the fact all three lines were creating scoring chances and that the offense was coming from more than one line.
