By Ethan Ready, with files from Jason Peters (Cariboo Cougars)

BC Elite Hockey League

Capitals gather trio of victories

Feb 7, 2022 | 11:53 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Northern Capitals had a productive weekend in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

The female U18 Capitals played a trio of games in the BC Elite Hockey League and won them all. They started with a 3-1 victory against the Greater Vancouver Comets on Friday in Richmond and then skated to 6-2 and 5-3 decisions against the Vancouver Island Seals on Saturday and Sunday respectively in Chemainus.

In the Friday win, Brooklyn Hutchings led the Caps with a pair of goals and Kegan Goulet had the other. Hutchings also notched an assist, while Hailey Armstrong had two helpers. In the nets, Karsyn Niven picked up the victory.

On Saturday against the Seals, the Capitals spread the offence around, with goals coming from Kasey Ditner, Rachel Loewen, Armstrong, Hutchings, Ella Boon and Keira Vermeulen. Sierra Eagles was the winning goaltender.

In Sunday’s rematch, Armstrong broke a 3-3 tie in the late stages of the third period while the Capitals were on a power play. Goulet then hit an empty net to clinch the victory.

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In that game, Jessa Brewer, Abby Bryant and Armstrong also scored for the Caps, who were backstopped by Niven.

Thanks to the flawless weekend, the Capitals ran their season record to 18-6-0-3. They’re in second place in the five-team division, eight points back of the Fraser Valley Rush (23-2-1-0).

The next scheduled action for the Caps is Feb. 25-27 in Prince George when they’ll take on the last-place Greater Vancouver Comets (4-21-1-0) in a three-game set.

U18 CARIBOO COUGARS

The Cariboo Cougars knew the task at hand, and they completed it successfully.

The U18 Cougars took on the South Island Royals in a BC Elite Hockey League doubleheader at CN Centre and won both games against their weaker opponent. The Cats prevailed 7-3 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday. In the process, they boosted their record to 13-11-1-3 and sent the Royals home with a mark of 8-18-0-2.

In Saturday’s game, Joshua Sale put the Cougars ahead 4-3 with a power-play marker in the opening minutes of the third period and the Cats then iced the contest with goals by Max Sanford, Keenan Holland and Decker Mujcin.

Sanford and Holland finished with two goals each. Chase Pacheco also scored for the Cougars, who got winning goaltending from Tysen Smith.

On Sunday, the Cougars were leading the Royals 2-1 halfway through the third period when Pacheco struck shorthanded to give them some breathing room. Cariboo forward Marik Mamic hit an empty net in the final 10 seconds to produce the final score.

Pacheco had two goals in the game, while Mujcin also scored for the Cougars. In the nets, Smith was once again victorious.

The Cougars sit fifth in the 10-team division and the Royals are ninth.

The Cougars are scheduled to host the second-place Greater Vancouver Canadians (20-8-1-1) this coming weekend. Games are set for Saturday and Sunday at Kin 1, at 4:30 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. respectively.

In other weekend action in the BC Elite Hockey League, the U15 Cougars lost 10-2 and 7-2 to the Vancouver Northwest Hawks in Fort St. James and the U17 Cougars fell 8-2 and 7-1 to the Greater Vancouver Canadians in Richmond.