The U18 AAA female Central Plains Capitals suffered an extremely tough loss tonight on home ice.

The girls fell 2-0 to the Pembina Valley Hawks in a game that was scoreless until the final four minutes. Central Plains' team captain Phoenix Freis says the biggest factor wasn't necessarily something on the ice.

"There was a difference in our mental game. They got under our skin, and they had some chirps," Freis explains. "Some girls mentally checked out, and that caused some mishaps with making plays and all that."

Luckily for the Caps, they have a chance to wash that game out of their memory as they hit the ice again tomorrow against the Interlake Lightning.

"We just have to come back tomorrow with a positive mentality and just play the way we know how to play," Freis continues. "When we come together as a team, we don't let people get under our skin, we play good, we make good plays, and things go our way.

The team captain notes they'll be able to rally behind the fact that they defeated the Lightning just one week ago.

"If we know we can beat them, we can do the things we know we can do. We know how they play, and we know their strategies. If we get on top of that, we'll be good to go."

Freis gives a ton of credit to their goaltender Abby Reichert, who shutout Pembina Valley for over 56 minutes and gave the Capitals a chance down the stretch.

Central Plains will be back at the BDO Centre tomorrow at 3:00 to take on the Interlake Lightning.