The Northern Capitals thought they would be going south for a two-game roadtrip.
That turned into a week-long ordeal when the B.C. Elite Hockey League U18 female triple-A squad got caught up in the rainstorm that wreaked havoc over southwestern B.C.
The Capitals were playing the Greater Vancouver Comets Sunday morning in Richmond when their world started to change.
“We were in our second game Sunday, and it had been pouring since we got there Thursday night,” said Capitals head coach Mario Desjardins. “I hadn’t seen rain like that for a long time, and I’m from Terrace so… It didn’t stop until Tuesday morning.”
Capitals manager Cathy Bryant told Desjardins in the first intermission the Trans-Canada Highway was closed because of landslides near Spences Bridge, and they thought that would mean an extra 1 ½ hours on the Coquihalla Highway, but the team learned during the second intermission that route was closed when sections of the road washed out in the heavy rain. Not long after, Highway 99 through Whistler became impassable due to a landslide near Lillooet and the Highway 3 route through Princeton was also ruled out due to flooding.
The Capitals, who beat the Comets 3-1 Saturday and 6-2 on Sunday, thought about trying to make it as far as Hope and wait for the road to open, but instead opted to book into a hotel in Langley. That turned out to be a fortunate decision because the flooding Monday in Abbotsford, would have left the team stranded.
“If we had gone to Hope we’d still be trapped there,” sad Desjardins. “It was a good decision to hang tight in Langley and just stay there.”
The Capitals were able to reschedule their two games against the Fraser Valley Rush, originally slated for this coming weekend, and played both games in Langley, Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
All the Capitals players attend school and after already missing four days of classes they were nearly out of options to get back to Prince George. Their only way back, other than a 30-hour bus ride across Washington state and north up Highway 2 in Alberta through Edmonton, was to book a flight from Vancouver, and they managed to get everybody on board the same plane that flew back Wednesday night.
“School was the most important thing, they were starting to stress out with their grades,” said Desjardins. “A lot of them couldn’t get some of the assignments, like chemistry, they had to be at school to get them. We could have been stuck down there for weeks.”
The Caps handed the Rush its first loss of the season on Tuesday, winning 3-1, and lost Wednesday’s rematch 3-2 in overtime. That gave the visitors from Prince George seven put of a possible eight points in the four games combined. The Caps (12-5-0-2) currently rank first in the five-team league, four points ahead of the Rush, but have played seven more games than second-place Fraser Valley (11-1-0-0).
“They’re going to definitely surpass us, we expect that,” said Desjardins. “We’re just looking at staying in the top-two spots so we can get home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs. Our goal is to win the next four games against them and hope somebody else beats them.”
The Rush beat the Capitals twice in Prince George Oct.9-10 and will return to northern B.C. Jan. 22-23 for the Winter Classic in Vanderhoof and on the outdoor ice at Ernie Sam Memorial Arena in Fort St. James, Jan. 23.
The Capitals have now finished the 2021 half of their season and won’t play another league game until Jan. 7, when they host the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers. The Capitals will now start preparing for the Mandi Schwartz Tournament hosted by the Notre Dame Hounds, Dec. 9-11 in Wilcox, Sask. The Capitals open against Notre Dame on Dec. 9. They also play scheduled games against Red Deer and Rink Academy of Kelowna, the third-ranked U-18 female team in Canada.
The Capitals have been getting top-notch goaltending from Karsyn Niven and Sierra Eagles. Niven, who sports a league-best 1.38 goals-against average, made 47 saves in the 3-2 overtime loss. Eagles blocked 30 shots in Tuesday’s game.
“After losing Tuesday night the Rush were definitely prepared for Wednesday morning, but Karsyn played very well,” said Desjardins. “I believe Karsyn and Sierra were the players of the game for both games against the Rush.”
Capitals right winger Hailey Armstrong, with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points, is just two points off the pace of league scoring leader Levi Green of the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs, while Caps’ centre Brooklyn Hutchings (12-11-23) and left winger Maria Ayre (8-12-20), rank fifth and seventh respectively in the scoring race.
LOOSE PUCKS: The BCEHL postponed its scheduled U-18 male division games this weekend at Kin 1 between the Cariboo Cougars and Vancouver Northeast Chiefs. Those games will be rescheduled later…. The U-17 Cariboo Cougars were set to travel to Vancouver to play the Chiefs this weekend but that won’t happen until a later date… There will be games at the Kin Centre this weekend in the U-15 triple-A league, with the Cariboo Cougars (3-9-0-2, ninth place) hosting the South Island Silvertips (0-11-1-0) Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Kin 2 and Sunday at 8:15 a.m. at Kin 1.
