The Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League's Showcase Weekend in Portage la Prairie came to an end with an overtime loss for the Central Plains Capitals.

The Caps jumped out to a 1-nothing lead in the first period thanks to Mitchell Wilson's unassisted goal, but Eastman would answer back in the second to tie the game. Central Plains ran into some serious penalty trouble in the 3rd, taking 4 minor penalties in the frame, but killing them all to force overtime. After a crossbar attempt for Eastman early into the overtime period, the Caps couldn't seem to reset structurally, and the Selects finished them off after unfortunate bounce led to a prime scoring situation.

The Selects celebrate their overtime winning goal.

"I thought that we played better in games that we didn't win. But, there's progress," admits Caps' Head Coach Brad Gnidziejko. "We're working toward a 44 game season and I think we took a good step forward here. We didn't get the results necessarily we wanted, but it's .500. It's not exactly what you want but we'll take it."

The Caps finished 1-1-1 this weekend, and Gnidziejko's impressed with his club's position this season.

"I like our goaltending, and I like the work ethic of the kids. I like the fact that they're learning, we've got a pretty young team, so it's good to see how far they've come and fast they've done it."

13 games were played at the PCU Centre this weekend, with scouts from across the MJHL and SJHL in attendance. Gnidziejko says the Showcase is a fantastic idea for the league, the players, and the organization. "It's nice for us to host," says Gnidziejko. "It's rapid fire so you get a lot of games in a short period of time, and you get to see everybody. It's great, it's good for the kids, it's a bit of a motivation for them because everyone wants to show their wares, so I personally think it's fantastic."

The Caps next game is Friday when they host Norman at the BDO Centre.