Summerside Western Capitals

The Summerside Western Capitals are a Junior "A" hockey team based out of Summerside, Prince Edward Island. They play out of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The team currently plays their home games at the Consolidated Credit Union Place. Until 2007 the team played at the former Cahill Stadium.
==History==
The Capitals started out in the Island Junior Hockey League. 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, & former Team President of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Doug MacLean, a Summerside native.
The 1996-97 Summerside Western Capitals created a come from behind story book during the year. They were coached by 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 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, 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 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. 
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 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 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. 
Left|thumb|125px|Former logo of the team used from 2007-2013.
==Season-by-Season record==
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	T 	OL 	GF 	GA 	P 	Results 	Playoffs 	
1971-72 	27 	21 	3 	3 	- 	170 	82 	50 	1st IJBHL 	 	
1972-73 	40 	28 	8 	4 	- 	239 	149 	60 	2nd IJBHL 	 	
1973-74 	28 	10 	15 	3 	- 	123 	154 	23 	4th IJHL 	 	
1974-75 	40 	21 	18 	1 	- 	208 	198 	43 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1975-76 	39 	13 	19 	7 	- 	199 	247 	33 	4th IJHL 	 	
1976-77 	40 	12 	25 	3 	- 	186 	276 	27 	5th IJHL 	 	
1977-78 	40 	31 	5 	4 	- 	-- 	-- 	66 	1st IJHL 	 	
1978-79 	39 	20 	14 	5 	- 	206 	181 	45 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1979-80 	40 	14 	20 	6 	- 	193 	235 	34 	4th IJHL 	 	
1980-81 	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate 	Did Not Participate
1981-82 	42 	8 	38 	6 	- 	189 	283 	22 	4th IJHL 	 	
1982-83 	42 	18 	18 	6 	- 	216 	238 	42 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1983-84 	40 	25 	12 	3 	- 	244 	201 	53 	1st IJHL 	Won League 	
1984-85 	37 	18 	15 	4 	- 	203 	174 	40 	2nd IJHL 	 	
1985-86 	36 	15 	9 	12 	- 	231 	204 	42 	2nd IJHL 	Won League 	
1986-87 	42 	19 	20 	3 	- 	232 	216 	41 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1987-88 	42 	30 	6 	6 	- 	267 	179 	66 	1st IJHL 	 	
1988-89 	44 	33 	7 	4 	- 	297 	161 	78 	1st IJHL 	 	
1989-90 	40 	26 	11 	2 	1 	213 	153 	55 	2nd IJHL 	 	
1990-91 	42 	15 	20 	5 	2 	211 	247 	37 	3rd IJHL 	 	
1991-92 	46 	18 	16 	12 	- 	210 	206 	48 	6th MJAHL 	 	
1992-93 	48 	21 	21 	4 	2 	226 	244 	48 	5th MJAHL 	 	
1993-94 	48 	13 	32 	2 	1 	182 	263 	29 	7th MJAHL 	 	
1994-95 	48 	24 	21 	3 	0 	221 	206 	51 	3rd MJAHL 	 	
1995-96 	54 	28 	24 	1 	1 	252 	232 	58 	5th MJAHL 	 	
1996-97 	55 	35 	14 	4 	2 	350 	259 	76 	2nd MJAHL 	Won League,Won 1997 RBC Cup 	
1997-98 	52 	12 	33 	3 	4 	207 	307 	31 	9th MJAHL 	 	
1998-99 	48 	5 	41 	2 	- 	157 	317 	15 	9th MJAHL 	 	
1999-00 	52 	24 	24 	3 	1 	198 	229 	52 	5th MJAHL 	 	
2000-01 	52 	32 	12 	4 	4 	288 	224 	72 	1st MJAHL 	Lost in League Finals 	
2001-02 	52 	21 	26 	3 	2 	209 	225 	47 	8th MJAHL 	 	
2002-03 	52 	26 	21 	3 	2 	240 	219 	57 	4th MJAHL 	 	
2003-04 	52 	19 	28 	2 	3 	201 	225 	43 	9th MJAHL 	 	
2004-05 	56 	22 	26 	4 	4 	220 	252 	52 	9th MJAHL 	 	
2005-06 	56 	36 	14 	0 	6 	274 	197 	79 	2nd MJAHL 	Lost Semi-final 	
2006-07 	58 	43 	14 	0 	1 	281 	172 	87 	2nd MJAHL 	Lost in League Finals 	
2007-08 	58 	24 	30 	- 	4 	185 	219 	52 	9th MJAHL 	Lost in Mini-Series 	
2008-09 	54 	39 	13 	- 	2 	249 	149 	80 	1st MJAHL 	Won League,Won Fred Page Cup5th 2009 RBC 	
2009-10 	50 	27 	20 	- 	3 	230 	186 	57 	4th MJAHL 	Lost Semi-final 	
2010-11 	52 	36 	12 	- 	4 	255 	186 	76 	2nd MHL 	Won League,4th 2011 Fred Page Cup 	
2011-12 	52 	26 	21 	- 	5 	192 	200 	57 	7th MHL 	Lost Semi-final 	
2012-13 	52 	43 	7 	- 	2 	222 	119 	88 	1st MHL 	Won league2nd 2013 Fred Page Cup 	
2013-14 	52 	24 	23 	- 	5 	178 	187 	53 	8th MHL 	Lost quarter-final 	
2014-15 	48 	21 	21 	- 	6 	184 	197 	48 	8th MHL 	DNQ 	
2015-16 	48 	34 	12 	- 	2 	207 	150 	70 	1st MHL, 1st North 	Lost division final 	
Season 	GP 	W 	L 	OL 	SL 	GF 	GA 	P 	Results 	Playoffs 	
2016-17 	50 	25 	22 	0 	3 	169 	184 	53 	7th MJAHL, 3rd North 	W, DSF 4-2 (Commondos)L, DF 1-4 (Timberwolves) 	
2017-18 	50 	33 	16 	1 	0 	213 	142 	67 	3rd MJAHL, 2nd North 	
W, DSF 4-1 (Tigers)L, DF 3-4 (Blizzard) 	
2018-19 	50 	40 	8 	1 	1 	247 	120 	82 	1st MJAHL, 1st North 	
W, DSF 4-0 (Aces)L, DF 2-4 (Tigers) 	
2019-20 	52 	42 	7 	3 	- 	259 	145 	87 	1st MJAHL, 1st North 	Playoffs cancelled before start 	
2020-21 	23 	14 	7 	2 	0 	94 	73 	.652 	T-3rd MJAHL, 3rd South*	Playoffs suspended 	
2021-22 	38 	31 	4 	1 	2 	206 	101 	65 	1st North 	W, DSF 4-1 (Blizzard)W, DF 4-0 (Red Wings)W, F 4-1 (BearcatsWon Canadian Tire Cup	
2022 Centennial Cup	5 	3 	2 	0 	0 	16 	16 	8 	2nd Group B 	Lost Semifinal 3-4 (Longueuil College Francais) 	
2022-23 	52 	35 	14 	3 	0 	217 	167 	73 	3rd North 	W, DSF 4-3 (Tigers)L, DF 0-4 (Blizzard) 	
2023-24 	52 	38 	5 	3 	6 	274 	170 	85 	1st South 	W, DSF 4-1 (Mariners)W, DF 4-2 (Ramblers)L, F 2-4 (Timberwolves) 	
Note: *due to restrictions involving the province of New Brunswick caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the team was shifted to the South Division for the 2020-21 season. The team would be shifted to the South Division in 2023 due to a Nova Scotia based franchise relocating to New Brunswick
125px|previous team logo
===Franchise records===
These are franchise records held by previous team rosters. Figures are updated after each completed MHL regular season.
Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season	Team Records for a single season
Statistic 	Total 	Season 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Most Points 	88 	2012–13 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Most Wins 	43 	2012-13 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Most Goals For 	350 	1996-97 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Least Goals For 	123 	1973-74 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Least Goals Against 	82 	1971-72 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Most Goals Against 	317 	1998-99 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Notable alumni==
*Gerard Gallant
*Darryl Boyce
*Geoff Walker
*Kent Paynter
*Nathan McIver
*Brett Gallant
*Andrew Gallant
==See also==
*List of ice hockey teams in Prince Edward Island
==External links==
*Capitals Website
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Maritime Junior A Hockey League teams