The St. John’s Senior Caps celebrated back-to-back victories over the Outer Cove Marines in a home-and-home series on November 1st and 2nd.
The first game played at Jack Byrne Arena on Friday saw the Caps take the lead in the opening period by Jakob Hann, but the 1-0 lead was cut short at the end of the period by Outer Cove’s Kory Waterman, tying the game at one goal apiece, heading into the locker room.
In the second period, the Caps unleashed a flurry of goals led by Joel Bishop, followed by Tanner Humber-Dredge, who potted two markers. Matthew McKim rounded out the scoring, making it 5-1 before Outer Cove’s Daniel Cadigan scored with less than two minutes left in the second frame to keep them in the game. In the third, Outer Cove added two more goals by Ben Cleary and Kyle Champion to make the game close, but the Caps were able to pull away with a 5-4 win.
Mike Dyke, Senior Caps Head Coach, said Outer Cove is a tough team to play against, but he didn't think they took them lightly. He liked how the Caps stormed out of the gate and took a commanding 5-1 lead in the second period, but it seemed like the team took its foot off the gas in the third period.
“We came out of the gate well and built a nice 5 - 1 lead at the end of the second period. Then we started getting sloppy, and the scoring chances went back and forth for the rest of the game. It was a good finish, which is great for the league. We knew it would be tough, and Friday's first game indicated that. We were lucky to squeak out our first win of the year.”
Dyke said it was a win the team needed to help get the team back to playing Caps hockey after a 4-3 loss in the closing 23 seconds of the third in their first game against the Southern Shore Breakers the previous weekend.
“In the first game, we tried to do too much. We were trying to play too fancy and not taking advantage of our shot opportunities from the high percentage areas. I felt we had some lapses. As it was the season's first game, I realize it takes a while to get into it, but consistency is essential.”
In Saturday’s game at Mary Browns Center, the Caps stormed out of the gate with Kyle McGrath opened up the scoring early in the first, followed by a power play marker three minutes later. Joel Bishop closed out the scoring to make the score 3-0 at the end of the first period. In the second period, McGrath scored two more goals, which gave him a hat trick. His third goal came on the power play. Newcomer Mark Rumsey added his first of the season minutes later, followed by Michael Cole, who notched his first of the season on the powerplay to score 6-0 before Outer Cove’s Matt Nickerson tallied one to break the shutout at 6-1 at the end of the second. Cole opened up the scoring in the third period, adding his second and third goals at even strength and on the power play for the Caps' second hat-trick of the night. Outer Cove’s Joseph Trenholm and Bishop rounded out the scoring with an unassisted marker late in the third to earn the Caps their second-weekend victory at 9-2.
Dyke said the Caps are a team that can’t play down to anyone's level when they get up by a bunch of goals. He said the team needs to keep going for 60 minutes and is confident his team will get there.
“Last year, we wore teams down because we are so hard-working. We are so deep, lines one through four. It seemed other teams couldn’t handle us as the game moved on, so that is the style we are trying to get back to.”
This season, the team lost part of its defensive core when all-star defenceman Jackson Murphy-Johnson, who the team received in the draft last season. However, the team added a premier forward in Mark Rumsey, who spent two years playing with the University of Saskatchewan and in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“It was a big loss, losing Johnson, but we have a solid young core for our defence, and many young guys are willing to step up. Gaining Mark is a big addition we are lucky to have this year. I think he will make us stronger up front.”
The Caps will take on the CBS Blues next weekend. Dyke said it would be a game that would test the team's defence and special teams.
“They have a high-flying offence this year. We have to tighten our D zone and our special teams, too. We need to have a strong penalty kill because they have some dangerous guys on the power play that can hurt us.”
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