The Walkerton Fritz Concrete novice rep Capitals had a successful Saturday in Harriston, advancing to the finals of the Minto Minor Hockey Novice Tournament.
The Caps cruised through their first two games before dropping a close 4-1 decision to a strong team from Mount Forest in the final.
In the A Division Final, Walkerton spotted Mount Forest a two-goal lead in this game. Owen Frank finally gave the Capitals life when he took a pass from Micayla Dales and broke in alone and scored high glove. However, Mount Forest regained a two-goal lead just minutes later. Late in the game, it appeared Walkerton would head to the power play after Micayla Dales was hauled down in the neutral zone. But there was no call on the play, and Mount Forest broke in on the ensuing turnover to make it a 4-1 final.
The Capitals advanced to the championship final after going 2-0 in the preliminary round of the tourney. The novices opened with a 6-2 win over Six Nations. Jack Fleschauer gave Walkerton a 1-0 lead just minutes into this game with help from Niklas Howald. Six Nations answered back immediately with a rocket wrister that goalie Kalin Whitehead had no chance on. From that point on, the game belonged to Walkerton. Ryan Fisher made it 2-1 from Nate Bester after minutes of sustained pressure. Will Kueneman scored to make it 3-1 shortly after and Micayla Dales made it 4-1 before when she drove the net and knocked in a loose puck. Six Nations got one back in the final minute of the second period, but Owen Frank restored a three-goal lead early in the third from Nicolas McTeer. Fleschauer scored his second goal of the game to make it a 6-2 final. Bester assisted on the goal.
Walkerton also defeated Bruce Peninsula 5-1. After a scoreless opening period, Fleschauer scored for the novices from Bester and Lucas Hill. Keuneman made it 2-0 late in the second period from Nevin Schumacher, and a Howald goal made it 3-0 early in the third period. Keuneman scored his second of the game with 2:25 to go, and Frank made it 5-0 21 seconds later. Bruce Peninsula spoiled Whitehead's shutout bid with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. The win gave the Capitals a spot in the A Division final against Mount Forest.
Next up for the novices is a Saturday home game against Hanover. The puck drops at 2 p.m.