The Cowichan Valley Capitals started the B.C. Hockey League season with the narrowest of defeats at home against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Friday, then lost big on the road against the Nanaimo Clippers the next night.
The Caps played well enough to win on Friday, but ended up on the losing side of a 3-2 shootout loss. The story was the complete opposite on Saturday as they were thumped 6-1.
“I thought the first game was really good for us,” Cowichan head coach Mike Vandekamp said. “We played well. Extremely well. There were nerves early on, which is normal, but once we settled in, we played well in the second and third.”
Neither team managed to score in the first period, and Alberni’s Dawson Tritt had the only goal of the middle frame. Newly anointed captain Vincent Millette drew the Caps even five minutes into the third, and then sophomore defenceman Boo Grist scored his first junior A goal to stake Cowichan to a 2-1 lead at 11:26. Evan Goggins tied the score for Alberni at 14:08. A scoreless overtime sent the teams to the first shootout of the BCHL season.
Shawnigan Lake School alumnus Jackson Doucet scored on Alberni’s first attempt, but Cowichan goalie Jack Grant held off the other two Bulldogs shooters. Meanwhile, Cowichan minor hockey product John Hawthorne stoned all three Capitals shooters: Adam Conquest, Luc Wilson and Millette.
Not including the shootout, Grant finished with 29 saves on 31 shots, while Hawthorne stopped 42 of the Caps’ 44 shots.
Vandekamp confirmed that he is not a fan of the way the season-opener was decided.
“I don’t like shootouts,” he said. “Even if we won, I’d be telling you the same thing. But for whatever reason, they’ve decided to put it in this league.”
In Nanaimo on Saturday, the Clippers scored one in the first period and three in the second, with three of their first four goals coming on the powerplay. Conquest scored for the Caps on a man advantage early in the third, and then Nanaimo added two more, including one by former Cap Ethan Scardina. Grant saved 28 of 34 shots, and Landon Pavlisin stopped 19 of 20 for the Clippers.
“We didn’t play well,” Vandekamp said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
Vandekamp was making his first appearance in Nanaimo since being let go last December, midway through his seventh season as the Clippers’ head coach. Also returning to familiar territory were Cowichan forwards Millette, Lucas Vanroboys, and Preston Brodziak, and defenceman David Melaragni, all of whom played for the Clippers last season. Vandekamp admitted the homecoming “had a big-game feel to it.”
Disappointed as he was with his team’s performance and the result, the coach remained focused on the big picture.
“It’s early in the year; we’ll learn from it,” he said. “Results are always important, but right now, it’s also about the process of getting better every game.”
The Caps will host the Penticton Vees on Friday at 7 p.m., then visit Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Saturday. Friday’s game is the Capitals’ last at the Island Savings Centre until Sept. 26, as they are away to the Bauer BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack next weekend.
The Vees may be perennial contenders for the league title, but Vandekamp isn’t worrying much about who his team is facing from week to week.
“I think every game is tough,” he said. “That’s the way the league is built. Every weekend, there are different challenges.”
The Caps made a trade on Monday, acquiring defenceman Dimitri Mikrogiannakis from the Newmarket Hurricanes of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in exchange for blueliner Michael Keating.
“We’ve been pursuing a trade for Dimitri for the better part of the off-season,” Vandekamp said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to get it done before the season started.”
The 1999-born Mikrogiannakis posted 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) and 36 penalty minutes in 48 games for Newmarket last season, then added eight points (five goals, three assists) and eight penalty minutes in 13 playoff games.
“He’s a good player,” Vandekamp said. “He’s got good size and he’s a good skater. He’s got some offensive ability. He’ll be a good all-around defenceman for us.”
Keating was an off-season acquisition who never got a chance to suit up for the Caps in a regular-season game.
