The Capitals will be playing a home game in the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League)!
After starting the regular season with six of their first seven games on the road, the Caps return to Eastlink Arena to entertain the Woodstock Slammers at 6:30 p.m. Fans are asked to note the start time.
“It’s been a tough grind, but it’s nice to be winning games on the road and not losing them this early in the season,” said Capitals head coach Billy McGuigan.
Award-winning Island-born singer and songwriter Lennie Gallant will sing O’Canada on Saturday, and will perform following the game in the Veterans Convention Centre at Credit Union Place. A concert ticket also includes admission to the game.
“It’s a night of entertainment and hockey,” said McGuigan. “It’s going to be an exciting night.”
Start
Despite a tough schedule to start the regular season, the Caps are guaranteed of returning home with a better-than-.500 record. The Caps will take a 4-2-0-0 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses) into Friday’s road game in St. Stephen, N.B., against the County Aces (1-5-0-0).
The Slammers, meanwhile, are hosting the 2016 Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian junior A hockey championship, and are off to a 4-0-2-0 start. One of those overtime losses was a 4-3 setback to the Caps in the season opener for both teams in Woodstock on Sept. 12.
“We expect a different team on Saturday night,” said McGuigan. “If you follow the league real closely you can see each week that they’ve added a couple of players.
“They are probably going to be a different hockey club, and they are undefeated in regulation time. . .
“We will have to be play a good hard game at home.”
Home debut
Forward Josh Pugsley is expected to make his home debut with the Caps on Saturday. The five-foot-nine and 160-pound forward, who was acquired from the Amherst Ramblers in exchange for Alex Bradley on Sept. 20, has one goal and two assists in his first three games with the Caps. He has been playing on a line with Nathan Yetman and Alex Peddle.
“He’s a gamer and he’s not a big kid,” said McGuigan. “He’s a smaller forward that has some skill and can score a bit.
“He can play offence, defence or whatever role you need him to do. He distributes the puck well, he finds holes to make plays and passes and he finds holes to score goals. He’s been awesome for us so far.”
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