With a fresh win against the Langley Rivermen under their belts, the Cowichan Valley Capitals took to the road on a high this past weekend, playing in Cranbook and Trail on Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18 respectively.
“Before heading out on the road trip we had played four good games in a row,” said head coach Mike Vandekamp. “I think the road trip was a tough test for our players for the first time this year. A lot of our players do not have a lot of experience with that type of travel, etc.”
Cowichan defender Brady Yakesh was named team captain ahead of the trip, while forwards Matthew Swanson, Luke Lavery, and defender Luke Santilli were all selected to wear the ‘A’ on their jerseys.
The Cranbrook Bucks opened Friday night’s scoring in the first period and scored twice more in the second to take a 3-0 lead into the final frame at their home rink. Cowichan forward Andrej Kovacevic scored a powerplay goal early in the third period but Cowichan’s comeback fell just short and the Bucks went on to a 3-1 win.
The following night the Caps suited up against the Smoke Eaters at Cominco Arena in Trail only to face a storm of Smoke Eater goals and their second loss in as many nights.
With Trail already up 3-0 in the second, Cowichan’s Darius Bachler potted his second of the season on the odd-man rush, with assists from Brock Cummings and goalie Emerik Despatie, but Trail answered back late in the period to stay ahead by three goals.
Play opened up in the third period, with the teams scoring five goals between them. Cummings brought the Caps to within two but the Smoke Eaters followed up with another pair of goals keeping the game out of reach for Cowichan.
Mattéo Lamoureux scored the last of Cowichan’s three goals, from Kovacevic and Matteus Söderbom but once more Trail answered, and the Smoke Eaters ended up with a 7-3 victory on home ice.
Despatie stopped 47 of 54 shots on goal in the loss.
“In both games we did not start well but we picked it up as the game went along,” Vandekamp said. “Obviously we didn’t get the results that we wanted, but we honestly feel like we have turned a corner and are playing better hockey. We are looking forward to this upcoming weekend at the BCHL Road Show in Quesnel.”
In partnership with Lhtako Dene Nation, the BCHL announced that this season’s Road Show event is featuring two regular-season games between the Capitals and the Victoria Grizzlies in Quesnel, a community currently outside of the league’s 17 markets.
Quesnel was once home to the BCHL’s Millionaires franchise but that was sold to the Chilliwack Chiefs in 2011. It’s the third Road Show hosted by the BCHL as the event was in Burns Lake last season and Kitimat in 2020.