The Cowichan Valley Capitals remain last in the B.C. Hockey League after a winless road trip through the Interior last weekend.
The jaunt got progressively worse for the Caps over the three days as they lost 6-4 to the Trail Smoke Eaters on Friday, 4-1 to the Penticton Vees on Saturday, and 9-1 to the Merritt Centennials on Sunday.
The Caps and Smokies traded goals in the first period on Friday, with Trail getting on the board at 8:18 and Adam Conquest replying for the Caps 45 seconds later. Cowichan went ahead on second-period goals by Olivier Gauthier and Lucas Vanroboys, but Trail got one back late in the middle frame, then scored three times in the first five minutes of the third. David Melaragni got the Caps back within one midway through the third, but that was as close as they would get, and the Smokies iced it with an empty-netter.
Matt Waite allowed five goals on 26 shots in the Capitals’ net. At the other end, former Cap Adam Marcoux started for Trail and allowed three goals on 13 shots while playing just over half the game. His backup, Tanner Marshall, stopped five of six shots over the balance of the contest. Neither team scored on the powerplay as the Caps went 0-for-2 and the Smoke Eaters were 0-for-3.
The Caps opened the scoring on Saturday with a shorthanded goal by Paul Selleck midway through the first. Penticton drew even with just over a minute left in the opening stanza, then added two in the second and one in the third, the last three all on the powerplay.
Summoned from the junior B Nanaimo Buccaneers, Blake Wood made his first junior A start and stopped 34 of 38 shots, while Crofton’s Derek Krall made 18 saves in the Penticton net. The Vees had a whopping 13 powerplay opportunities, scoring on three of them. The Caps were issued nine misconducts in the game, including four game misconducts and one gross misconduct, and had two players suspended as a result of their actions in Penticton: Vanroboys got three games for receiving his third minor of the season for a hit to the head, and Cole Broadhurst also got three for the gross misconduct. The Caps were 0-for-4 on the powerplay.
The Caps lead the league in penalty minutes, with 275 in 14 games. The Chilliwack Chiefs are second with 233 in 16 games. Fortunately, the Cowichan penalty kill is functioning at 81.9 per cent, close to the league average.
The Centennials scored three times in the first 3:09 against a depleted Cowichan lineup on Sunday afternoon. Ryan Moon managed to interrupt the Merritt onslaught at 12:26, but the Cents added two more in the first, three in the second and one in the third
Waite got the start, and allowed eight goals on 35 shots before he was pulled late in the second. Wood played the remainder, stopping 17 of 18 shots. The Caps scored on one of their 15 shots at the Merritt net.
The Caps failed to convert two powerplay opportunities, while the Centennials went 2-for-7.
In addition to their three games, the Caps also made a couple of trades on the weekend. They shipped local product Caleb Franklin to the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and acquired Brady Lynn from the Surrey Eagles. Both players are 19-year-old forwards, with future considerations going the other way. With Franklin’s departure, Broadhurst is the only regular forward remaining with the Caps from last year’s squad.
Both players had identical stat lines for their respective teams prior to the trades, posting three assists and six penalty minutes in nine games. Lynn played two games for the Caps on the weekend, collecting nine penalty minutes after a fight against Merritt.
Lynn posted 26 points (17 goals and nine assists) and 52 penalty minutes in 55 games with the Nanaimo Clippers last year.
The Caps have two home games this weekend as they play host to the Powell River Kings on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Surrey Eagles on Saturday at 6 p.m.
