“Basically, what happened was there was a little battle in front of our net, and they took a liberty on (Caps goaltender) Logan Reid,” said Caps head coach Billy McGuigan. “Logan was trying to stick up for himself, as well as some of our guys, and it kind of turned into a little battle where Logan had the gloves off.”
Each team picked up two fighting majors and one game misconduct for the second fight at the same stoppage. The Caps also picked up two minors and one game misconduct for third man in while the Mariners received three minors.
While McGuigan does not expect any carry-over from the previous meeting, he would not be surprised if there’s some animosity between the teams. However, he was quick to point out that a big two points are at stake for both teams in the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) standings.
Breathing room
The Capitals, who are coming off a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Amherst Ramblers in a makeup game on Wednesday night, are trying to open up some breathing room over the third-place Dieppe Commandos in the race for home-ice advantage in the Roger Meek Division semifinals.
The Capitals are 20-16-1-4 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses), and Dieppe is 18-19-2-2.
Going into Friday’s play, Yarmouth (25-12-1-2) was tied with the Metro Marauders (24-13-1-4) atop the Maurice Bent Division. Only four points separated first through fifth place.
“Yarmouth is one of the best teams in the league,” said McGuigan. “They are in first place in the other division, and is playing really well right now.
“I know (head coach) Laurie Barron and (assistant coach) Timmy Garden-Cole always have them playing hard. They (Mariners) are going to come in here and battle, and they are at the end of a long weekend.
“Yarmouth is one of the best teams in the league. They are in first place in the other division, and is playing really well right now. I know (head coach) Laurie Barron and (assistant coach) Timmy Garden-Cole always have them playing hard. They (Mariners) are going to come in here and battle, and they are at the end of a long weekend. They have three games in three nights, finishing off here in Summerside. We have to take advantage of that early.” - Caps head coach Billy McGuigan
“They have three games in three nights, finishing off here in Summerside. We have to take advantage of that early.”
How do the Caps do that?
“With our guys, obviously with the game with Amherst we showed a lot of energy and our physical game has came along quite a bit. We are finishing checks and battling hard.
“With all the young guys we have and the moves we made at the deadline, moving most of our 20-year-olds, it gives our younger players a greater chance to play and succeed. We want to get pucks deep early, finish checks and make sure we set the tempo and not them.”
Tough weekend
It’s not an easy three games in less than 72 hours for the Mariners, who played in Woodstock, N.B., on Friday night, and travel back to Nova Scotia to visit the Truro Bearcats on Saturday.
Meanwhile, it will be the rested Capitals’ first game since Wednesday night. The break in the schedule was a welcome break for the Caps, who played three games in less than 72 hours last weekend.
“We gave the guys a few days off and went to the (Summerside) Storm (basketball) game last night (Thursday) as a team to do some team bonding and support the Storm as well,” said McGuigan. “They (Storm) won and we’re hoping to grab some of that winning stuff here Sunday.”
Booster Club
A general information meeting for the Western Capitals Booster Club will be held following Sunday’s game.
The location will be Meeting Room 2 at Credit Union Place.
All interested individuals are invited to fill out a short application form, and offer any help they can.
jpsports@journalpioneer.com
