Capitals need one or done in MHL playoffs

Capital Gains: A win means the Kent Cup for the Caps

S. RYAN QUIGLEY
JOURNAL PIONEER

It’s do or die for the Summerside Western Capitals in game seven of the Meek division final Thursday night in Woodstock.
After coming into Tuesday’s game with a 3-2 edge in the series, the Woodstock Slammers came away with the 5-2 win to take the series into a seventh and deciding game.
Home ice hasn’t been an advantage in the series as each team has dropped two out of the three home games they have had in the series.
The winner of game seven is set to face the Weeks Crushers who beat the Yarmouth Junior A Mariners last night to close out their series win 7-4.
Summerside head coach Gordie Dwyer said he knows that anything can happen in a game seven.
“We’ve won up there in this series and we won up there in the regular season so we’ll be ready to go and leave it all out there on the ice.”
It’s two really good teams in a hard fought battle and they’ll be ready for game seven, said Dwyer.
“It’s been a game by game battle…It’s a sixty minute hockey game and we’ll be ready to roll.”
There will be minor tweaks in the game, but not much else said Dwyer about the game plan for game seven.
“In game seven it’s all about executing and playing within yourself and doing what you’ve done well all year long and that’s what we’re going to try to accomplish and play a solid sixty minutes and hopefully walk away with the series.”
They expect nothing but the best from the Slammers in game seven, said Dwyer.
“The reality is we have to fight and claw tooth and nail for every opportunity that we cash in on and we’ll have to do that in game seven.”
Woodstock coach Jason Tatarnic credited the team mentality and sticking to the game plan to the win over the Caps Tuesday night and plans to continue that.
“When you’re facing elimination, you’re going to play desperate hockey.”
Though happy with last nights game, there is one factor the Slammers would like to have on their side, said Tatarnic.
“Luck. At some point you have to work hard, and through hard work sometimes you get a lucky bounce here or there.”
Home ice advantage will be a factor, but knows that it hasn’t been that way the whole series, he said.
“It hasn’t been a typical playoffs for home ice advantage, that’s for sure, but the bottom line is there’s one game left and you can’t worry about what happened in the past, you just got to look to the present.”
Though the season series leaned 5-2 in the Crushers favour, there is no shock into going to a game seven with Summerside, said Tatarnic.
“We’re not fooled by it, we know we’re playing against a very good hockey team and we have to be prepared.”
Dwyer said if they had be told they would end up in a one game playoff with the Slammers at the start of the season they would have been happy.
“A winner take all game seven it’s exciting for us and we would have took it at any point in the season.”