Kelsey Roberts did everything but score for the Northern Capitals Friday at Rolling Mx Concrete Arena.
That's not in the job description for goaltenders.
Stopping pucks is. Roberts was a standout while making 38 saves in the opening game of the best-of-three the Pacific regional female midget triple-A hockey championship series, but it wasn't enough to defeat the visiting Rocky Mountain Raiders, the Alberta champions, who left the rink with an impressive 3-0 victory.
Form start to finish, the Raiders were the better team, and now they have the Capitals on the brink of elimination.
Three months ago in Calgary, the Capitals defeated the Raiders 5-1 in the Mac's Tournament final, a nationally-televised game, and that was obviously weighing on the minds of the visitors.
"This was a good momentum-builder for us and tomorrow, hopefully, we can take it in two," said Raiders captain Nicolette Seper.
"We didn't have our greatest game against them in the Mac's tournament and it was a good learning opportunity. We wanted revenge and we got that today."
Seper, Kara Kondrat, Breanne Trotter made sure of it. They each found the net behind Roberts. Kate Lloyd made 24 saves for the shutout.
"We really wanted redemption from the Mac's tournament, because we were really upset when we lost in the final, and our Number 1 goal was to push it back and say, 'we're right in this,'" said Lloyd. "She's a great goalie and you're not going to score often, so to score you're going to have to work hard and get those rebounds on her."
The Capitals' best chance of the game came five minutes in. Hunter Mosher used her speed to beat Kennedy Moore with an outside move, then dragged the puck through the slot for an open look at an empty net. But Lloyd stuck her toe out to make the save.
The Raiders drew first blood, 13:26 into the opening period. Kennedy Brown gathered the puck behind the Capitals net and spied Kondrat open in the slot for a one-timer. The Raiders found their skating legs early and had the Capitals under siege several times in the opening frame.
The Raiders, picked from a number of small towns surrounding Calgary, doubled their lead with the only goal of the second period. Trotter chased down a loose puck on the left wing boards and used her strength and size advantage to power her way past Capitals defenceman Brooke Call and beat Roberts to the far side.
The Raiders were quicker on their feet and forced turnovers, and when they did get the puck they held it on their sticks longer than did the Capitals. They also did their homework.
"We know that they like to rim the puck and create an odd-man opportunity and we just played a fairly simple system just to take that away from them," said Raiders head coach Paul Pozzi. "We just took advantage of the opportunities we had and capitalized on some of their mistakes and we were able to put a lot of pucks on (Roberts). She's a super goaltender, one of the best we've faced all year."
Seper, the Raiders' leading pointgetter this season, made it a 3-0 count early in the third period. She tipped in a shot that was going wide of the net after a face-off win in the Capitals' end. That came four seconds after Capitals forward Myah Bowal was sent off for hooking.
Even with a comfortable lead, the Raiders kept their foot on the pedal and continued to pour pressure on their opponents, whose frustration at their lack of offence continued to grow.
"We have to give them credit, they played an awesome game," said Capitals winger Taylor Beck. "When we had our chances we just couldn't bury them and it got frustrating. We know this was not a good game for us and we can build on it for next game."
Shots ended up 41-24 in favour of the Raiders. Capitals head coach Mario Desjardins got Roberts to the bench for an extra skater with three minutes left but the Caps were unable to muster much of anything.
"I'd say that's one of the worst games I've seen my team play in about three years," said Desjardins. "There was no chemistry and I don't know if it was just nerves but there was nothing going on. Give it to the Raiders, they showed up ready to play and they definitely outplayed us. We've never allowed 41 shots. We just had a bad game as a group but we'll bounce back (Saturday) and give a better effort."
The Capitals must win today (5 p.m. start, Rolling Mix Concrete Arena) to extend the series into Sunday. If Game 3 is needed, it starts at 10 a.m. Sunday.
The series winner advances to the five-team Esso Cup tournament in Weyburn, Sask., April 17-23, the eighth year for the female midget national championship.
