The Cowichan Valley Capitals collected two wins on their three-game Mainland Division road trip last weekend and returned firmly ensconced in third place in the B.C. Hockey League’s Mainland Division.
The Caps started the season with the goal of finishing higher in the standings, and sat in second place for much of the year, but ended up a little short of their aim.
“We didn’t set out to get third at the beginning of the year,” head coach Bob Beatty said. “It would have been nice to have home ice in the first round, but it is what it is.”
The Caps started their trip last Friday with a 7-3 win over the Surrey Eagles. They got past the Wenatchee Wild 3-2 in overtime the next night, then wrapped it all up with a 5-2 loss to the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Against Surrey, the Caps gave up the opening goal just 54 seconds in, but led 5-1 by the end of the first period, and held on to that four-goal lead.
“We played well enough to win,” Beatty said. “It was a good start to the road trip.”
Jared Domin led the Caps with a hat trick, while Josh Adkins had a goal and four assists, and Ryan Burton scored once and added three helpers. Chris Harpur and Adam Osczevski also scored, while goalie Lane Michasiw stopped 31 of 34 shots for the victory.
The Caps and the Wenatchee played to a thrilling 2-2 tie at the Island Savings Centre on Dec. 11, and last Saturday’s game — the Capitals’ first contest south of the border in more than 20 years — followed that pattern.
“It was similar, end-to-end. I think it was even a little better game down there,” Beatty said. “There was a lot of neutral-zone play. I think the game was even better executed in Wenatchee than it was here. Both goalies played well.”
Three minutes into overtime, Corey Hoffman sprang Matthew Hudie, who went in and beat the Wenatchee goalie. Burton and Osczevski had the other goals, while Hoffman finished with two assists. Storm Phaneuf stopped 38 of 40 shots for his 20th win of the season.
“They have a great atmosphere there,” Beatty said of Wenatchee’s Town Toyota Center. “Our guys played really well. Storm was certainly a factor. I thought our defensive zone play was pretty good, even though we gave up a lot of shots. I think we played a strong game.”
The Caps closed out the trip with a rough outing in Chilliwack.
“We didn’t mail it in, but we weren’t moving the puck well,” Beatty said. “We weren’t executing like we can. It wasn’t a sloppy effort, but we played them a lot better here last weekend.”
Adkins and Kade Kehoe scored against the Chiefs, while Michasiw stopped 32 of 37 shots.
The Caps will round out the season this weekend with a home-and-home series against the Nanaimo Clippers, playing at Frank Crane Arena on Friday and the Island Savings Centre Saturday at 7 p.m.
Cowichan and Nanaimo sit first and second in penalty minutes in the BCHL, the Clippers with 1,017 and the Caps with 951, more than 100 ahead of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and West Kelowna Warriors, who are tied for third.
“It should be an interesting weekend,” Beatty said. “Both teams are locked in to where they’re going to finish, but there’s never any love lost in our meetings. I expect a couple of spirited outings, considering there isn’t a position at stake.“
By virtue of their third-place finish, the Caps know they will play the Powell River Kings in the first round of the playoffs, with the Kings holding home-ice advantage. The Caps lost 4-0 and 7-0 last time they played in Powell River.
