The Northern Capitals have their eyes on a national championship and they want the hockey fans of Prince George to climb on board the bandwagon.
Saturday afternoon in Coquitlam, the Capitals successfully defended their B.C. Female Midget Triple-A Hockey League when they beat the Greater Vancouver Comets 1-0 to sweep the best-of-three championship series.
“We got a goal early in the first period and we basically stuck with our gameplan and played a 1-2-2 defensive style and they played it to a T and kept them off the scoreboard,” said Capitals coach Mario Desjardins.
“Defensively we’ve been solid all year and just carried that on through playoffs. Hunter has been strong for us the last four of five games in playoffs.”
Hunter Mosher scored the only goal Saturday, 3:14 into the game, finishing off a breakaway with a shot through the legs of Comets goalie Brooke Vial. The Capitals right winger collected two goals Friday in a come-from-behind 4-2 win in Game 1.
Goalie Kelsey Roberts was stellar in the Capitals nets in the final Saturday and also played Friday’s game. The 17-year-old University of Calgary recruit from Kitimat made a breakaway save in the second period when the Comets came close while killing a 5-on-3 penalty situation and Roberts came up big down the stretch when the Comets were pressing for the equalizer. Shots were 30-22 in favour of the Comets.
The Capitals finished the regular season in second place with a 21-6-3 record, four points behind the first-place Comets (23-4-3). In January, the Capitals won the prestigious Mac’s Tournament in Calgary for the first time.
The Capitals earned a first-round playoff bye, then got pushed to the limit by the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers in the semifinal round. The Capitals needed overtime to defeat the Lakers 3-2 in Game 3 of that series.
“It’s a pretty indescribable feeling,” said Capitals defenceman Sydney Jordan, a third-year midget. “We played better defensively against the Comets than we did against the Lakers. It was very intense. We scored within the first two minutes of the game and held a 1-0 lead the whole game and it was pretty nerve-wracking. Kelsey held us in there.”
In Friday’s game, the Capitals overcame a 2-0 deficit and scored four unanswered goals.
“The girls played strong and scored when they had to and I’m pretty proud of the gutsy effort the team had over the weekend,” said Desjardins. ”After we lost that first game (3-2) to the Lakers and I remember standing in the dressing room that night and saying, ‘this will be the turning point for the team right here. We need to learn how to lose before we learn how to win,’ and they’ve now won four in a row.”
The Capitals will have a week off and will return to practice next Monday to prepare for the Pacific regional championship against the Alberta champion, a best-of-three series which will be played in Prince George, April 1-3.
“We’re one of the only teams left still playing in P.G. since the Cariboo Cougars lost and all the other team’s seasons are over, so hopefully lots of people come out and support us,” said Jordan.
The regional series will be played either at Kin 1 or the Coliseum. The winner will advance to the six-team Esso Cup midget national championship, April 17-23 in Weyburn, Sask.
“I really hope the city of Prince George shows up and embraces female hockey and will support our team and be that seventh player to get us to nationals,” said Desjardins. “To be able to represent female hockey at the Esso Cup would be phenomenal.”
