SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – The Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals continue to impress nationally.
The Canadian Junior Hockey League announced its final weekly top-20 rankings for 2018 on Monday afternoon, and for the second week in a row the Capitals are in the No. 5 position. The Caps have now been a top-10 team for seven weeks in a row.
The Caps sit atop the Eastlink North Division of the MHL at 19-4-0 (won-lost-overtime losses). Summerside trails the Yarmouth Mariners (24-5-1) by 11 points in the overall standings, but the Caps have seven games-in-hand and sport a league-best winning percentage of .826.
The Mariners, who split a pair of road games over the weekend, dropped from fourth position to sixth.
The Caps, who defeated the St. Stephen Aces 6-0 in their lone game last week, play their final two pre-Christmas games on the road against the Grand Falls Rapids (6-15-4) on Friday and Edmundston Blizzard (14-9-3) on Saturday.
The Amherst Ramblers (19-7-2) of the MHL received honourable mention this week.
The Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League are ranked No. 1. The Bandits, winners of eight straight games, have a record of 32-3.
The next CJHL top-20 rankings will be released on Jan. 7, 2019.