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Northern Capitals boosted by Mac's victory

They went undefeated against some of the best teams in Western Canada. On the way to a championship, they outscored their opponents 18-4.
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Citizen file photo by James Doyle

They went undefeated against some of the best teams in Western Canada. On the way to a championship, they outscored their opponents 18-4.

For the Northern Capitals, winning the female division at the Mac's AAA Midget Hockey Tournament was yet another impressive feat. They can add it to last year's regular-season and playoff titles in the B.C. Hockey Female Midget AAA League and can use it as a momentum builder as they chase more success this season.

In the Mac's final, played on New Year's Day at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, the Prince George-based Northern Capitals beat the Rocky Mountain Raiders of Okotoks, Alta., 5-1. The victory capped a flawless Mac's run for the Capitals, who recorded round-robin wins against the Melville Prairie Fire (3-0), Calgary Fire (1-0), Kootenay Wild (3-2) and Vancouver Island Seals (2-1) and then knocked off the Fraser Valley Rush 4-0 in a playoff semifinal.

"With this latest accomplishment, we continue to send a message to our players to believe in this special group that we have," said Northern Capitals head coach Mario Desjardins. "Sometimes you kind of wonder if they do believe. They show up to the rink, they practice, they play, they have good games and bad games. But when they really start to believe that this team is a special group of girls, great things are going to happen."

Still on the hit list for the Capitals in 2016 is another set of league and playoff championships. And the ultimate goal is a berth in the Esso Cup national tournament, which starts on April 17 in Weyburn, Sask.

To get to the Esso Cup, the Capitals need to repeat as B.C. playoff champs and then beat the Alberta winner - something they fell short of last year when they were swept by the Edmonton Thunder in a best-of-three Pacific series. The games were close, with Edmonton winning 3-2 in triple overtime and 3-1 in the clincher.

Currently, the Northern Capitals hold second place in the B.C. league with a 14-5-2 record. They are two points back of the Greater Vancouver Comets, who did not attend the Mac's. This weekend, the Caps will host the third-place Thompson Okanagan Lakers (12-5-4). Games are set for Friday (6:45 p.m., Kin 1), Saturday (7:15 p.m., Kin 1) and Sunday (8:15 a.m., CN Centre).

"We've got a big series coming up this weekend versus the Lakers, who are right behind us in the standings," Desjardins said.

"There's a lot of parity in our league this year and I really believe B.C. is closing the gap on Alberta, which has been involved in female hockey a lot longer than B.C. has."

The majority of the teams at the Mac's were from Alberta. In the other semifinal, the Raiders downed the Sherwood Park Fury 4-1.

One Capitals player - 17-year-old captain Sage Desjardins - was selected to a Mac's all-star team. A leader throughout the tournament who scored two goals in the final, she was chosen as a first all-star. Coach Desjardins felt that more of his players - including goaltender Kelsey Roberts (who surrendered just one goal in four games), defenceman Victoria Byer and forward Marissa Nichol - deserved individual recognition but he and all the players are happy to take the big trophy instead.

"That's how I kind of looked at it," the coach said. "At the end of the day we won a championship and we won it as a team. It was great to go into that championship game and get a lead. It's the coach's best formula - you can play the whole bench and that's the way it worked out for the whole tournament so it was great that way."

Other members of the Northern Capitals are Taylor Beck, Myah Bowal, Caily Mellott, Hunter Mosher, Mckenzie Muir, Jordan Shanks, Katie Young, Grace Barlow, Victoria Johnston, Sydney Jordan, Kenna Lloyd, Casey Norris and goaltender Tamara William.