The Oil Caps lost 4-3 to Winkler on Friday, beat Neepawa on Saturday 4-2, and shut out Dauphin 4-0 this past Tuesday. As of Wednesday, the team had a 37-10-3-3 record. On Monday, it was eighth in the latest Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 rankings.
Lehto, Chastko Honoured
Oil Caps forward Josh Lehto won the MJHL’s Frank McKinnon Memorial Trophy. The prestigious honour recognizes hockey ability and sportsmanship. As of Wednesday, Lehto had 25 goals, 56 points, and just 10 penalty minutes through 53 games.
Lehto and teammate Nolan Chastko were named MJHL Second Team All-Stars. As of Wednesday, Chastko, a forward, had 29 goals and 50 points in 49 games. He was a nominee for league MVP, which was awarded to Trent Penner of the Winkler Flyers.
Oil Caps defenceman Cole Slobodian was selected as a MJHL Rookie Team All-Star. The blueliner recorded four goals and 15 assists through 49 games, as of Wednesday.
Fellow first-year Oil Cap Bryce Bryant of Virden was a nominee for Rookie of the Year. It was won by Steinbach Pistons forward Grady Hoffman. Virden bench boss Tyson Ramsey was a nominee for MJHL Coach of the Year. Eric Labrosse of the OCN Blizzard received that honour.
Oil Caps 4, Kings 0
Virden’s own Eric Reid stopped all 27 shots the Kings sent his way on March 5. It was his third shutout of the season.
Virden led 1-0 after the first period. The Oil Caps improved their lead to 3-0 by the second intermission. All goals came at even strength. Virden bombarded Dauphin netminder Cole Sheffield with 46 shots. Scoring for the Oil Capitals were Luke Robson, Layton Veitch, Lehto, and Chastko.
Oil Caps 4, Titans 2
The Oil Capitals had a strong start on their way to halting a three-game losing streak. The hosts led 1-0 and 3-2 at the intermissions.
“I thought our guys worked hard and had good energy in the second game of a back-to-back when we got home real late off the road the night before,” Ramsey said. “We were focused and stuck to the game plan and fought were able to grind out a big win.”
Noel Englot, Trevor Hunt, Roux Bazin and Evan Groening scored for Virden. Oil Caps goalie Liam Bechthod had 22 saves on 24 shots.
Neepawa netminder KC Couckuyt had 33 saves. Scoring for the Titans were Ty Schell and Tim Tychonick, who had a shorthanded marker.
Flyers 4, Oil Caps 3
After a scoreless first period on March 1, the host Flyers took a 2-1 lead in the second. Both of their goals came on the powerplay. Naton Miller scored Virden’s marker.
Groening knotted the contest at 2-2 in the first five minutes of the third period. Winkler responded with two goals, including one on the powerplay. Winkler was 3-for-6 with the man advantage on the contest. Grady Lane scored with just less than four minutes to go in the third to pull the Oil Caps to within one, 4-3, but they could not get any closer.
Reid made 30 saves. Malachi Klassen stopped 35 shots for Winkler. Scoring for the Flyers were Dalton Andrew (two), Jakob Jones, and Trent Penner.
