The Central Plains Capitals lost 2-0 to the Pembina Valley Hawks in Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League action at the BDO Centre this afternoon.

Head coach Ferdi Nelissen says the girls played well but struggled a bit on the penalty kill.

"I actually thought 5-on-5, we were the better team. They scored 2 powerplay goals because we didn't execute the penalty kill the way we wanted. When we don't do the little things and play aggressive on the penalty kill, they have time and space to get shots to the net and pick up the rebound."

Nelissen says the girls did a lot of good things in the game, but adds they need to get more shots on goal.

"I think we had more quality chances than they did, especially in the 1st and 3rd periods, but we just didn't bury them which we have to do. We have to get the puck to the net a little more and look for the rebounds. I'm not unhappy with the way we played. We were moving the puck well out of our own end, we were creating opportunities but we just didn't score. Sometimes they're looking for the perfect shot, but they need to just get a shot to the net and look for the rebound."

The Capitals next game isn't until January 3rd as they take a break for the holidays. Nelissen recaps the year so far, and says he's looking forward to continuing their strong play in 2016.

"We're kind of rebuilding this year, our young players are really doing much better as the year goes on and we're really happy with that. We're fighting for one of the top 3 spots in the league, which is exactly where we want to be. It's all about how you finish, not how you start and we said that to the girls. We've just got to keep building and keep working and I think we'll be in the hunt. I'm very encouraged by the first half of the year."