Central Plains Capitals are a win away from the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League playoffs.

They defeated the Thistles in Kenora 3-2 last night, and trail Pembina Valley Hawks by one point in the standings for the final playoff spot. The Hawks lost 7-4 to Brandon yesterday, to end their season.

Logan Calder, Max Neill, and Reilly Funk were the Caps' goal scorers.

Caps' coach Brad Gnidzieko says the team played well.

"We started out with a 2-0 lead," he says, "Didn't have a ton of jump, we didn't have our "A" game, but we battled through, we got enough done that we were able to get a couple of goals on them, and it carried us through for a little bit. We outshot them, but to be truthful, we're going to have to be a little more sharp today (Sunday), to make sure that we secure ourselves a playoff spot."

Gnidzieko's pleased with the team's goaltending.

"Sivvy (Riley Sviestrup) played real solid, and made the stops he had to make," he says, "But he left the game in the second period, with an injury. (Rhett) Boschman stepped up and was good, and we got the win."

Today's game in Kenora has a 2:30 start.