Capitals defeat Rush to open final home weekend series

The Northern Capitals took to the ice in Kin 2 on Friday night in the first of three games in the weekend series against the Fraser Valley Rush.

Both teams got off to an early start with Fraser Valley's Tamaryn Ward potting the first goal of the game at 1:58 into the first frame. It didn't take long for the Capitals to answer back with Brette Kerley scoring a goal of her own a little over a minute laster at 3:16 into the period. Maria Arye scored a powerplay marker 7:59 into the first to give the Caps a 2-1 lead. Ocean Anderson scored the third goal of the game for the Capitals 5:24 into the second period. The final goal of the game came with 20 seconds left on the clock in the final frame as Keagan Goulet popped the puck into the empty net to give the Caps the 4-1 win.

Cadence Petitclerc-Crosby got the start in net for the Northern Capitals and turned aside 24 of the 25 shots she faced on the night. Brynn Waisman got the nod in between the pipes for the Rush and stopped 22 of the 26 shots she faced.

The win gives the Caps a record of 18-10-2-0 and puts them 4 points ahead of the Rush with Fraser Valley having two games in hand.

The Northern Capitals will take on the Rush on Saturday in Kin 2 with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. and then will close out their regular season against Fraser Valley on Sunday morning in Kin 2 with puck drop set for 8:30 a.m.