Yellowhead falls to Central Plains in MFMHL final

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Yellowhead falls to Central Plains in MFMHL final

Details: Published on Wednesday, April 1, 2015

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner

The Central Plains Capitals have won the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League Championship. The Caps defeated the Yellowhead Chiefs 3-0, in the final game of their best of five series on Sunday, Mar. 29 in Portage la Prairie.

The first goal of the game didn’t arrive until the second period, when Central Plains forward Leandra Timmerman secured a power-play marker, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead heading into the third.

Much like the entire series itself, the final period remained close, as both teams exchanged scoring opportunities, but were unable to connect. That was until Chelsea Hallson of the Capitals was able to score another power-play goal for Central Plains, giving them the 2-0 lead. Mikaela Fisher scored an empty net goal with about two minutes remaining, sealing the series win for Central Plains. Capitals goalie Lauren Taraschuk stopped 19 shots on the way to a shutout, while Yellowhead netminder Miranda Cook, stopped 20.

Chiefs coach Derek Tibbatts said this was a closely contested series.

“Both teams worked hard. It was just does little things. A bounce here or there that masse the difference. it seemed as though who ever scored the first goal of the game would be able to take control of the momentum from there,” said Tibbatts. “The Capitals played well. it was a challenge throughout all five games for us. We played a strong series, it was a team effort. All our lines were going well. It was just a heartbreaking loss.”

This is the first time the Central Plains female Capitals have been champions of the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League. With the victory, the Capitals will now represent Manitoba at the 2015 Esso Cup, which is Canada's national women's midget ice hockey championship. It is a six team tournament, with clubs representing Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Atlantic region, the Pacific region and the host club. The Esso Cup runs from Apr. 19-25 in Red Deer, Alberta.