One down, one to go for the Northern Capitals.
Hailey Armstrong’s three-goal effort lifted the Capitals to a 4-3 win over the Fraser Valley Rush in Game 1 of the best-of-three B.C. Elite Hockey League female triple-A championship series Friday in Langley.
Armstrong, a native of Dawson Creek, got the Caps on the scoreboard midway through the first period, with Fraser Valley leading 2-0 on goals from Gillian Lapierre and Julia Clauzel. Before the period ended, Vienna Rubin made it a 3-1 game.
Armstrong scored again, 1:23 into the second period, and completed the natural hat trick with the tying goal at the 9:20 mark of the second. Linemate Brooklyn Hutchings of Prince George cashed in another Capitals’ opportunity at 13:25 of the second, which capped the scoring.
Karyn Niven picked up the win in goal for the Capitals. Clara Juca took the loss in the Rush nets.
The Caps have a chance to wrap up the series Saturday, with Game 2 starting at 11:15 a.m. Game 3, if necessary, would be played Sunday in Langley, starting at 9 a.m.
The Rush won the regular-season crown with a 28-3-1-0 record and finished 10 points ahead of the second-place Capitals (22-7-0-3). Fraser Valley won the season series, winning six of eight games against the Capitals, including two overtime victories.
The Capitals swept the Vancouver Island Seals last weekend in a wo-game semifinal series at Kin 2, while the Rush eliminated the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers in two games in the other semifinal series in Langley.
The Capitals-Rush series winner will host the Alberta champions in a best-of-three Pacific regional series to be played in the home of the B.C. champion.
The four regional winners and host Prince Albert Northern Bears will meet April 19-23 in Prince Albert, Sask., for the Esso Cup U18 national championship tournament.
