After a 35-22-1-0 regular season, the No. 3-seed Oil Capitals take on the OCN Blizzard (33-19-2-4), who slipped by Virden by one point to grab the No. 2 seed, in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division first round. The first two games are in OCN on Friday and Saturday. Tundra Oil & Gas Place will be home for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Veteran forward Colten Miller praised the Virden fan base for its support this season. He said:
“Now that it is playoff time, they will without a doubt find a way to ramp up the energy in our rink each night. I know I’m excited to play in front of our home fans ... and so are all the guys in the room and we’re looking to do something special here to give back to the community that has given us so much all season long and ever since the team has come to Virden.”
If needed, the fifth contest of the best-of-seven series will be in OCN on March 31. Virden would host on April 2, while a game seven would be in OCN on April 4.
The Oil Capitals won the season series between the two teams, 4-2. The last time they met was Feb. 4 when Virden won 2-1 at home.
“We will have to be sharp in all parts of our game,” Virden head coach Tyson Ramsey said. “They have good goaltending, a solid defence group and some forwards that can score and play physical. We will have to manage the puck well, be on the right side of the puck and get lots of pucks to the net. Going to some of the hard areas to score will be another key for us.”
Ramsey was named the MJHL Coach of the Year in his fourth season leading the Oil Caps. He matches up against Doug Johnson, who is his first season leading the Blizzard. He joined the team from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he was a three-time Coach of the Year and led the Nipawin Hawks to a 2018 league title.
Rookie Nolan Chastko led Virden with 20 goals and 43 points in 54 regular season games. Dean Gorchynski and defenceman David Bielik both had a team-best 28 assists. Roux Bazin led the Oil Caps in points per game average at 0.84.
Virden product Eric Reid led the Oil Caps with 21 wins and a 3.03 goals against average. Rookie Owen LaRocque had 14 wins, a 3.08 GAA, and a .900 save percentage.
During the regular season, the Blizzard were led offensively by Riley Zimmerman. He had team highs of 27 goals and 59 points in 57 games. Alex Bernauer posted a Blizzard-leading 33 assists. OCN led the West Division with 157 goals against in 58 games. Blizzard goalie Chase Hamm, who played for Johnson in Nipawin, was third in the MJHL with four shutouts, third with 24 wins, and fourth with a 2.46 GAA.
The Oil Capitals wrapped up their regular season by going 1-2 last week. The team beat Waywayseecappo, 2-1, on the road on March 14. Reid stopped 34 shots while Joey Bielik and Naton Miller scored. In its final regular season home game, the Oil Caps lost 6-3 to the Swan Valley Stampeders. The team’s regular season wrapped with a 6-4 road loss in Swan River.
