Hockey games can’t get much closer than the ones the Cowichan Valley Capitals played at the B.C. Hockey League Showcase in Chilliwack this past weekend.
The Caps lost in overtime to the hometown Chilliwack Chiefs on Friday after surrendering the tying goal with just over a minute left in regulation, then fell to the Coquitlam Express on Saturday, giving up the decisive goal with less than five seconds remaining.
“The story of the weekend is that we could have had four points, should have had three, and ended up with one,” Cowichan head coach Mike Vandekamp said. “It’s all about learning early in the season. We didn’t get as good results as I would have liked, but we were playing two good teams who have been playing well against everyone and we were right in the mix.”
On Friday, the Caps built up a healthy lead over the defending national champion Chiefs in their own barn, up 3-0 midway through the second period. The Chiefs scored twice in the last two minutes of the second, then tied the game with 68 seconds left in the third. Chilliwack then scored the winner at 2:04 of overtime.
“I thought we played a really good hockey game,” Vandekamp said. “There were a couple of turning points. We had an injury to one of our best players [forward Adam Conquest], and a couple of penalties in the second took away from our momentum a bit.”
Cowichan forward Olivier Gauthier also had a penalty shot in the third period that was turned aside by Chilliwack netminder Mathieu Caron, who stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced. And when the Chiefs pulled Caron for the extra skater late in the third, it was the first time the Caps had seen a six-on-five situation this season.
Preston Brodziak and Vincent Millette each had a goal and an assist, and defenceman Doug Scott also scored. Jack Grant played all 62 minutes and four seconds in the Cowichan net, stopping 37 out of 41 shots.
“I’m not a huge believer that it’s a loss,” Vandekamp said of the overtime result. “It’s a point. Three-on-three overtime and shootouts, I don’t call that a loss.”
It was a quick turnaround for the Caps, who returned to the ice again early Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. against a team that played their first game on Thursday and had Friday off. The Caps were also short on bodies, but managed to keep the game tight. Coquitlam opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at 5:52 of the first, and Lucas Vanroboys scored unassisted at 9:53 to tie it for Cowichan.
The teams battled through a scoreless second and looked to be doing the same in the third until the Express scored with four and a half seconds left in regulation. The Caps had iced the puck, leading down a faceoff in the Cowichan end. Although the Caps won the faceoff and cleared the puck out, the Express counterattacked and scored on a wraparound.
“Maybe they thought [clearing the puck] was enough, but the guys let the foot off the pedal,” Vandekamp said.
Newcomer Matthew Waite started in goal, but lasted just nine minutes and 53 seconds before he was injured, allowing one goal on six shots. Grant ended up playing the bulk of the game making 30 saves on 31 shots. The Caps had 20 of 21 of their shots turned aside by Coquitlam goalie Clay Stevenson.
In addition to Waite and Conquest, the Caps also saw another top-six forward, Jordan Robert, go down to injury in the first game of the weekend. All three injured players are considered day-to-day. Combined with some bad luck in their first six games, the Caps can definitely say the intangibles haven’t been on their side so far this season.
“We’ve had some unfortunate bounces so far this year,” Vandekamp said. “But I told the players, if you work hard enough, they can come back in your favour at times, too.”
The BCHL Showcase served its purpose for the Cowichan players, some of whom managed to attract attention from scouts and recruiters.
“We didn’t have anybody leave with a scholarship in their back pocket, but I don’t think that happens very often,” Vandekamp said. “But there were conversations for sure. I think our players did themselves justice as individuals.”
Still just half a dozen games into the 58-game campaign, the Caps have one win, three regulation losses and two overtime or shootout losses, and sit in a three-way tie for third in the Island Division.
“We don’t have as may points as I’d like to have in the standings,” Vandekamp admitted. “We’re a couple of points behind where we’d like to be. But there are a lot of reasons why. We were moments away from a win against Alberni and moments away this past weekend. We have to take the next step. Instead of finding ways to lose a point, we need to be finding ways to keep a point or win a point.”
The Caps host the Victoria Grizzlies this Wednesday at 7 p.m., and the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday at 6 p.m.
kevin.rothbauer@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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