Playing league’s best

Capitals host Blizzard tonight in ‘gauge’ game

It’s a test the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals are looking forward to.

The Capitals will host the Edmundston Blizzard, the No. 19th-ranked team in this week’s Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings, tonight at Eastlink Arena at 7 p.m.

“It’s definitely a gauge in how we compare to the best teams in the league,” said Capitals head coach Billy McGuigan. “We beat (Eastlink South Divisionleading) Yarmouth (Jan. 14) in a game I thought we were good in parts of it, and not so good in other parts.

“To have a nationally ranked team like Edmundston coming in, and it’s a TV game on Eastlink, it’s a big part of our playoff push to try and continue with momentum and gain points.”

The Blizzard sits atop the Maritime Hockey League standings with 55 points on the strength of a 26-7-3-0 record. The Caps are in second place behind the Blizzard in the Eastlink North Division at 21-13-1-0, good enough for 43 points.

“I feel they are the best team in the league,” said McGuigan. “They are coming in, playing a young team, with the majority Island players.”

The Caps will be missing second-year forward Kallum Muirhead, who will begin serving a five-game suspension. Muirhead received three games for a gross misconduct penalty assessed at the end of Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Truro Bearcats. Muirhead, who recorded nine points in the Caps’ last six games, was also handed a twogame suspension for boarding on a video appeal after there was no penalty called on the play in Friday’s game.

“It’s a big loss,” McGuigan said of Muirhead’s suspension.

The Blizzard has won the first four head-to-head meetings against the Caps this year, but three of those were played in October.

“I think we are a lot better hockey team right now,” said McGuigan. “I feel our structure and system play has improved immensely, and we are competitive with any team in the league.”