The Capitals will host the Eastlink North Division-leading Miramichi Timberwolves at Eastlink Arena in a 7 p.m. start.
In the lone regular-season meeting between the two MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) teams, the Timberwolves posted an 8-3 win in Miramichi, N.B., on Sept. 30.
“Our young team was a little intimidated by Miramichi in their rink,” said Caps head coach Billy McGuigan.
However, after falling behind 5-0 at the end of one period, McGuigan did see some positives over the final 40 minutes.
“I wouldn’t say the game as a whole was an indication of an 8-3 game,” he added. “The shots were close (35-32 in favour of Miramichi), and, I thought, we outplayed them at times.”
Game plan
As for Saturday’s game, McGuigan wants the Caps to do a better job of getting pucks behind Miramichi’s defence than they did in the first meeting.
“We didn’t do that in Miramichi,” he acknowledged. “We tried to carry pucks in, and it’s a small neutral zone there.
“We want to spread the ice out a bit here, and also get some saves. It’s a cliché to say, you need goaltending to win games.”
The Timberwolves are 9-1-1-0 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses). Miramichi was ranked 16th in this week’s Canadian Junior Hockey League top-20 rankings. The Caps (5-4-0-0), who are tied for second place in the division with Dieppe (4-4-1-1), trail the Timberwolves by nine points, but have two games-in-hand.
Homecoming
Saturday’s game will mark a homecoming for Miramichi rookie defenceman Jack DesRoches of Day’s Corner.
DesRoches, who is still eligible to play midget after playing the last two seasons with the Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild major midget team, has two assists in 11 games.
Visit Truro
The Capitals will open the weekend with a road game against the Truro Bearcats on Friday night. It will mark the team’s third game in five days in Truro, N.S.
The Caps split a pair of games – losing 4-2 to Dieppe on Monday and defeating Campbellton 4-3 on Tuesday – at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre as part of the MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) Showcase.
It will be the first meeting of the season between the Caps and Bearcats.
“Looking at some film, they are a typical Shawn Evans-coached club,” said McGuigan on Thursday. “They are a team that hangs around in every game, they always play tight games, they are strong defensively, and don’t seem to have a lot of firepower but always seem to find a way to get it done.
“They play hard, are systemically strong, and they defend well.”
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Notebook
Summerside Western Capitals’ notebook:
Six-foot-five and 215-pound rookie forward Kallum Muirhead of Charlottetown returned to the Caps’ lineup on Monday night after serving a five-game suspension. Muirhead recorded a goal and an assist in Monday and Tuesday’s games, and head coach Billy McGuigan liked what he saw.
“The big thing about Kallum Muirhead that people do not know is he has a great set of hands,” said McGuigan. “He has a soft touch around the net, he finds holes, he has a soft touch when he passes. He has some really good skills, and his foot speed is coming every day.”
McGuigan hopes to get rookie goaltender Kirklin Allen a start this weekend. Sophomore Matt Williams has started the last five games.
Caps forward Casey Fox, who has not played since receiving a high hit on Oct. 2, is listed as day to day. Fox has eight points, including four goals, in six games.
Rookie TJ Shea of Tignish leads the Caps with 10 points (2-8). Fellow freshman Marc-Andre LeCouffe of Tracadie, N.B., is next with nine points (4-5).
After he was cut from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the undrafted LeCouffe talked to McGuigan and general manager Pat McIver, and opted to join the Caps as a free agent.
“It’s great (in Summerside),” said LeCouffe, 17. “Great coaches, great facilities, it’s awesome.”
The Caps are 3-0 (won-lost) on Eastlink Arena ice this season.
