After spending the better part of a month away from Landon Arena building on their 11-0-1 road record, the Capitals had a lot to prove on their home ice where they've dropped six of nine games. Once it was over, the Caps had taken both games and all four points against the St. Louis Junior Blues.
The two teams met for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon. Midway through the first period, team captain Kyle Rimbach helped himself to the games first goal to give the Caps a 1-0 lead that stood until the third period. In the final frame, the wheels came off for the Blues as the Caps fired home three unanswered goals on their way to a 4-0 victory. Alex Johanson (assisted by John Crusinberry and Igor Valko), Tre Kautzman (assisted by Alex Sauer), and Mike Pedersen (assisted by Steve MacIver) scored to bury St. Louis in the series opener. Jacob Pelton had a terrific game in net, stopping all 30 shots against him as he picked up his second shutout of the year and his fourth win in five games for the Capitals.
On Sunday morning, it was the second period that doomed the Junior Blues as Topeka pounded in four goals to take a 5-0 lead. Alex Johanson was the standout in the middle frame, tallying a hat trick with one even-strength netter followed by two power play goals. Johanson would add another goal in the third for his fourth point of the game and fifth of the series. St. Louis would finally dent the scoreboard early in the third but it was far too little and too late to make a difference as they fell 7-1. Pelton was great between the pipes once again, stopping 25 of 26 and 55 of 56 for the series.
The Caps will take the weekend off before heading to the NA3HL Showcase on December 7th. They will take on Yellowstone (7-12-1) on Sunday, LaCrosse (10-8-1) on Monday, and Billings (11-7-1) in the tournament capper on Tuesday afternoon. The team returns to Landon Arena on December 12th to battle the Texas Junior Brahmas in a three-game series. Tickets for these games are only $5 and parking is free. For more information about upcoming games, cal 785-286-PUCK or visit www.topekacapitals.com.