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Defending champs in for a Rush this weekend

The real season begins Friday afternoon for the two-time defending champion Northern Capitals. The Capitals begin their B.C. Female Midget Triple-A Hockey League playoff quest today at 3 p.m.
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Northern Capitals player Jordan Shanks puts a shot on net while being checked by Devyn Millwater of the Vancouver Island Seals on Feb. 25 at Kin 1.

The real season begins Friday afternoon for the two-time defending champion Northern Capitals.

The Capitals begin their B.C. Female Midget Triple-A Hockey League playoff quest today at 3 p.m. at CN Centre when they host the Fraser Valley Rush to start a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Last year at this time the Capitals were in practice mode after they earned a first-round playoff bye for finishing second in the league standings. They don't have that luxury this year after ending up third behind the Greater Vancouver Comets and Thompson-Okanagan Lakers, who placed 1-2 respectively to draw the byes.

The Capitals (14-13-3) finished 19 points ahead of the sixth-place Rush (3-21-6) but nobody has to remind the Caps players of the consequences when they bring a touch of overconfidence to the ice against the league's last-place team. They lost 3-1 to Fraser Valley, Feb. 19 in Delta in the third game of a weekend regular season series, one of only three wins the Rush recorded all season.

"We gave them that game, we just didn't come out and play and we let them get the better of us," said Capitals head coach Carl Johnston.

"This is playoff hockey and anything can happen.

"The girls worked hard in practice this week and we worked on our systems to make sure everybody knows where they should be and when they have to be there so hopefully it will pay off."

The Capitals have already proven they can beat anybody in B.C. In a 30-game season, they hung the only loss on Greater Vancouver back on Feb. 4 in Prince George, beating the Comets 3-1.

"We've beaten and lost to the top and bottom teams in this league, we just have to get more consistent with our play for the full 60 minutes," said Johnston.

Six Capitals - forwards McKenzie Muir, Katie Young, Jordan Shanks and Caily Mellott, as well as defencemen Kenna Lloyd and Victoria Johnston - were starters for the team that swept the Comets last year in the league final, then went on to lose a two-game regional series to the Rocky Mountain Raiders for their chance to play in the Esso Cup national championship. Three others - defenceman Sarah Jarvis and forwards Mya Ziemer and Jordan McMillan were with the team as affiliated players

Coach Johnston is counting on the experience of his midget veterans to make another playoff push and perhaps pull off an upset if they can make it into the next round.

"The girls are starting to realize where we are and what's stake," he said. "The girls who were on the ice last year for the championship game, it's starting to have some filter-down effect and people realize it's playoffs now it's not just another game, so hopefully that maturity will come through."

Only the Comets, with 131 goals, scored more than the 84 goals the Capitals collected this season. Mellott, with 20 goals 11 assists and 31 points, finished second in the scoring race to Vancouver's Jann Gardiner (15-19-34). Two other Capital forwards - Shanks (12-10-22) and rookie Braxtyn Shawara (14-6-20), finished in the top-12, while Danielle Corrigan (7-9-16) and Jarvis (4-11-15) also cracked the top-20. Cassidy Wait (9-9-18) led the Rush offensively and finishing 20th in league scoring.

Johnston didn't name his starting goalie for today. Olivia Davis (8-6-1 record, 2.83 goals-against average) put up better numbers than Nicole Kay (6-6-1, 2.83 average) but there's a good chance Kay, a native of North Vancouver, will see action in the series playing a Fraser Valley team which cut her in training camp last summer.

Defenceman Malena Pilipow (concussion) won't play today. The Capitals are otherwise healthy to start the playoffs.

Game 2 of the series is set for 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena. If Game 3 is needed, it would be played Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at RMCA.