Capitals play great defensively but can't pull out victory

The female U18 AAA Central Plains Capitals put up a great fight last night in front of the Portage fans. The Caps dropped a 1-0 contest to the Winnipeg Avros and dropped to 1-9 so far this season. Head coach Brendan Schaan was really impressed with the way they played defensively.

"That was the best I saw our defence (play) all year. We're finally playing that in-your-face and aggressive style, creating turnovers and not letting them just skate in a shoot the puck. In front of the net, we're communicating and making sure our goalie has good eyes," Schaan continues. "Both Elyse (Denbow) and Abby (Reichert) have been playing very stellar hockey this year. We have confidence in whoever goes in the net. We expect them to make good saves for us and give us a fighting chance each and every night."

The Capitals have played a plethora of close games this season but haven't been able to come out on top since the season opener. Schaan talks about what he believes they need to do to come out on the other side in games like this.

"I think that was probably the closest to what our game can be. You play a good team like the Avros, and it is a 1-0 game that shows we're definitely trending in the right direction. We just have to find ways to put the puck in the net," Schaan explains. "I think we need to just shoot more. We almost forced the puck too much to be in the perfect spot to get the perfect shot. In this league, you're going to get more when you just put quantity on the net and crash, bang, and hope one squeaks through."

Schaan notes they had opportunities to tap in some loose pucks in the first period but they were unable to capitalize. He adds with a few bounces their way this game has a different outcome.

The head coach hopes they can be there for those loose pucks and have a couple of extra bounces on their side when they are in Regina next weekend for the Hockey Regina Female Challenge.