The Summerside Western Capitals are a Junior "A" hockey team based out of
Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the primary service centre for the western part of the island.
History
Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on ...
. They play out of the
Maritime Junior A Hockey League
The Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. It consists of five teams from New Brunswick and one team from Prince Edward Island, which make up the E ...
. The team currently plays their home games at the
Consolidated Credit Union Place. Until 2007 the team played at the former
Cahill Stadium
The Cahill Stadium was an arena in Summerside, Prince Edward Island designed for ice hockey events and was home to the Summerside Western Capitals hockey team, who won a Royal Bank Cup in the building in 1997. In March 2007 the building was clos ...
.
History
The
Hemphill Pontiac Western Capitals began in the
Island Junior Hockey League
The Island Junior Hockey League is a Junior "B" ice hockey league in Prince Edward Island, Canada, sanctioned by Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body ...
. Summerside is in the Western end of the province, & sometimes referred to as 'The Western Capital', thus the reference to 'western' in the original team name. The Capitals joined the MJAHL in 1991. They hosted the
Centennial Cup 1989 on behalf of the IJHL. This team was coached by former NHL coach, General Manager, & Team President of the
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...
,
Doug MacLean, a Summerside native.
The 1996-97 Western Capitals created a come from behind, story book tale during the year. They were coached by current NHL coach and former Detroit Red Wings player, Gerard Gallant, and they dominated the MJAHL Roger Meek Division during the regular season. In the first round of the playoffs they routed the Restigouche River Rats in five games. They beat out the Charlottetown Abbies in the second round before going on to win the Callaghan Cup by clinching a seven-game league final in Dartmouth. Following the tough playoffs came a long bus trip to Brockville, Ont for the 1997
Fred Page Cup. The winner of that tournament would advance to the Royal Bank Cup, which the Capitals were hosting that year. They would go on to lose all 3 games in the round robin and be eliminated.
At the
1997 Royal Bank Cup
The 1997 Royal Bank Cup was the 27th Junior "A" 1997 ice hockey national championship for the Canadian Junior A Hockey League.
The Royal Bank Cup was competed for by the winners of the Doyle Cup, the Anavet Cup, the Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Fred Pa ...
in Summerside, the Western Capitals won the first game, 5-1n over the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats. They would then hit a stumbling block, losing their second and third games 7-5 and 8–2 to the Kanata Valley Lasers and the Weyburn Red Wings. They would finish the round robin by losing 3–2 to the South Surrey Eagles in overtime. Because the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats had already lost 4 games, the overtime loss game, the Capitals 3 points which was good enough for 4th place. After being shut out of the player awards, the Capitals had to come together as a team. In the regulation round, the Capitals did just that defeating the tournament's MVP and future NHLer, Mark Hartigan, and his Weyburn Red Wings 4–3 in a very exciting overtime. The Capitals used that win as a moral boost to defeat another Future NHLer, Scott Gomez, and his South Surrey Eagles by a very close score of 4–3. With that win the Summerside Western Capitals would become the first team in Eastern Canada to win the national jr. A (Tier II) junior championship, Royal Bank Cup.
In 2001 the team made a run for the league championship. After sweeping the first two rounds without one of their top players, Denis White, the Antigonish Bulldogs took advantage of the Capitals beating them in five games to go on the
Fred Page Cup. They did not make another significant run again until former Philadelphia Flyer,
Forbes Kennedy
Forbes Taylor Kennedy (born August 18, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 603 games National Hockey League (NHL) with five teams between 1956 and 1969, recording 70 goals and 108 assists for 178 points and 888 p ...
, was hired as head coach in 2004–05. They were one of the leagues elite teams for the three years that he coached the team, going to the division final in 2005-06 but losing to the
Woodstock Slammers
The Woodstock Slammers were a Junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior "A" hockey team based in Woodstock, New Brunswick. They played as part of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MHL). The team played their home games at the Carleton Civic Centre, for ...
in 7 games. In the 2006–07 season they won 15 games in a row to end the season and went on to win the Meek division title before losing in 6 games in the league final against the
Truro Bearcats
The Truro Bearcats are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Truro, Nova Scotia. The Bearcats are one of six Nova Scotia teams in the Maritime Junior Hockey League.
History
Metro Valley League years
Originally, Truro was a member of ...
.
In the 2008–2009 season, the Capitals finished first place in the Meek division, and later went on to defeat the
Dieppe Commandos, and
Miramichi Timberwolves
The Miramichi Timberwolves are a Junior "A" hockey team based in Miramichi, New Brunswick. They play in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The team was founded in 2000 and plays their home games at the Miramichi Civic Centre.
History
The Mi ...
in 4 game sweeps to advance to the league championship series, to take on the Truro Bearcats for the second time in 3 years. This time though, the Capitals defeated Truro in 5 games, and won their first league championship since 1997, on home ice. The Capitals entered the
Fred Page Cup tournament, and after going 2–1 in the round robin portion, they defeated the
Pembroke Lumber Kings
The Pembroke Lumber Kings are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Central Canada Hockey League and are the winningest team in CCHL (formerly CJHL) history as well as 2011 Royal Bank Cup National Ju ...
4–1 in the semifinal to move to the final against the Dieppe Commandos. The Caps won the game 3–2 in double overtime after Mike MacIsaac scored, to send the Caps to their first Royal Bank Cup since winning it in 1997 as the host team. The Capitals travelled to the Pacific coast to Victoria, BC to participate in their 2nd tournament. Summerside had a 0–4 record heading into their final game against the defending RBC champions
Humboldt Broncos. Summerside won the game 5–0, but were already eliminated from the tournament and finished 5th. The players were angry and upset about the outcome and engaged in roughing up one of the hotel employees at the team's hotel. They behaviour resulted in the Capitals losing the right to host the 2011 Royal Bank Cup. Summerside got their chance to host the tournament in 2014.
The Capitals named Gordie Dwyer as their Head Coach and Associate General Manager for the 2009–2010 season. Dwyer led a rebuilding team to a regular-season record of 27-20-1-2 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses). The Capitals finished third in the Roger Meek Division, and won a seven-game division semifinal series against second-place Miramichi. The Capitals were then eliminated by eventual league-champion Woodstock in a five-game division final. Dwyer returned for his second season in 2010-2011 as head coach and Associate Director of Hockey Operations.
Since 2001, the Capitals have been owned by a private ownership group consisting of local individuals.
In 2013, the Caps were sold to a new private local group.
Season-by-season record
Franchise records
These are franchise records held by previous team rosters. Figures are updated after each completed MHL regular season.
Notable alumni
*
Darren Langdon
*
Gerard Gallant
*
Darryl Boyce
Darryl Boyce (born July 7, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Boyce's playing career got a kick sta ...
*
Geoff Walker
*
Kent Paynter
Kent Douglas Paynter (born April 27, 1965) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. Paynter played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1985 to 1998.
Playing career Junior hockey Kitchener Rangers (1982-1985)
Paynter joined the Kitchener Range ...
*
Nathan McIver
*
Brett Gallant
Brett Philip Gallant (born February 18, 1990 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) is a Canadian curler from Calgary. He currently plays second for the Brendan Bottcher rink.
Career Juniors
Gallant has represented Prince Edward Island in the ...
*
Alex Gallant
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peop ...
See also
*
List of ice hockey teams in Prince Edward Island
External links
Capitals Website
{{Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Maritime Junior Hockey League teams
Ice hockey teams in Prince Edward Island
Sport in Summerside, Prince Edward Island
1970s establishments in Prince Edward Island
Sports clubs established in the 1970s