The Cowichan Valley Capitals had a pair of games this past weekend, winning the first in overtime on March 14 at home against the Coquitlam Express and losing the second the following night against the Clippers in Nanaimo.
Against Coquitlam, the Caps got the early lead on a Nicolas Beaudoin goal midway through the first. Coquitlam countered quickly but Jordan Bax pushed Cowichan ahead late in the period to give his team a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.
Bax scored again in the second period, but not before Coquitlam had tied it up and a Gavin Giesbrecht goal had regained the lead. Up 4-2 in the second, the Express got the last goal of the period to make it 4-3 Cowichan at the second break.
Coquitlam had the long third period goal, sending it to overtime. Caps fans were already on the edges of their seats and it took just over two minutes for them to get to their feet when Giesbrecht scored the game winner.
Riding a 5-4 high from the night before, Cowichan met a prepared Clippers team in Nanaimo the following night.
Nanaimo was already up 3-0 by the time the Caps got their first goal midway through the second. It was Carter Dekay's seventh of the season for Cowichan. At 3-1 to start the third, former Cap Luke Lavery scored on the power-play for Nanaimo to further extend the home team's lead. A goal from Trace Frieden wasn't enough as Cowichan fell 4-2.
With the playoffs still a few weeks away, head coach Cam Keith said preparation is more internal until they know who their first-round opponents will be.
"Right now our focus is to shape our defensive play to a better level," Keith said. "The standings are so tight we can finish anywhere from 2-7. Home ice advantage in the first round would be the goal but playing a style of hockey that works in playoffs is of greater importance."
Cowichan plays host to the Chilliwack Chiefs at the Cowichan Arena on Wednesday, March 19 before travelling to Powell River for games March 21 and March 22.
