The Manitoba U-18 AAA Hockey League opens its season today and the Central Plains Capitals will be kicking it off at home. The Capitals will be taking on the Interlake Lightning to open the season and will start the year playing a three-game series with them.

Central Plains head coach Len Dupasquier says they have quite a few new faces this season, so it will take some time for the team to gel. He likes a good portion of what he saw in the preseason but notes there's obviously still a long way to go. Dupasquier outlines what he wants to see from his team in the opener tonight.

"I want us to be first on pucks and the level of compete has got to be there," explains Dupasquier. "Getting the new faces to buy in right away is important and we'll see what our leadership group can do to reel these guys in, so we're doing it as a unit going forward."

Two key returning players from last season will be Riley Borody and Carson Buydens. These two players played a pair of MJHL preseason games against each other just a few weeks ago (Borody was on the Portage Terriers and Buydens played for the Virden Oil Capitals) but, luckily for the Caps, both will be playing one more year before getting another shot to play Junior A. Borody had 63 points last season and Buydens totalled 40.

The goaltending situation is still a bit of a question mark for Central Plains. Dupasquier explains.

"There are three guys fighting for two spots right now," says Dupasquier. "They've all competed hard and they've all had their moments. We're taking a little bit more time with these guys because there's a couple of kids that helped us out last year through our injuries, so we have to give them a fair shake."

Dupasquier says his main goal for this team is to continue to get better each time they step onto the ice.

Puck drop for tonight's season opener is set for 6:30 at the BDO Centre.