After the Virden Oil Capitals earned a split on the road in the opening weekend of their Manitoba Junior Hockey League semi-final series, the squad was hoping home ice would help them get closer to securing a spot in the finals.
Last Saturday the top-seeded Steinbach Pistons slipped past No. 5 Virden with a 5-4 overtime victory. The Oil Caps rebounded on Sunday to win 4-2 in the series’ second contest.
“Obviously, we went in taking it a game at a time and certainly had a chance to get the first one, but it didn’t go our way so then the second game becomes really important,” Virden head coach Tyson Ramsey said. “So, to come back with a split is a positive for us and now we need to take advantage of these two at home.”
The squad was slated to play at Tundra Oil & Gas Place on Wednesday and Thursday, after the Empire-Advance deadline. Game five is Saturday in Steinbach. If needed, Virden will host game six on April 25 with the seventh game in Steinbach on April 27. The focus for the Oil Caps?
“I think we saw in game one what can happen if we don’t defend the front of our net or if we don’t compete hard enough for pucks in all zones what can happen so we will need to continue to get better at those things,” Ramsey said.
Not unexpectedly, MJHL MVP Braden Fischer was a force to be reckoned with early in the series. The Winnipegger had five goals through the first two games. He collected a hat trick in the opener and scored two, including the game winner, in the second.
“Braden has been important for us all year long,” Ramsey said. “He is doing what we know he can do. He is an elite player in this league, and he has done a tremendous job in this series so far. He expects to provide offence and leadership, among other things, and I think he has done both extremely well.”
In game one, after a scoreless opening frame, the Piston outscored Virden, 3-2, in the second period. Dylan Halliday and Fischer had Virden’s goals. In the third, back-to-back goals by Fischer, including one on the powerplay, powered Virden to a 4-3 lead. However, Langley Kruggel of the Pistons knotted the game at 4-4 with less than five minutes to play. Zach Power scored the winning goal in overtime.
Virden goalie Bailey Monteith made 36 saves on 40 shots. Will Hambley had 27 saves for the Pistons.
The loss halted a nine-game Oil Capitals’ winning streak. Virden ended the regular season on a five-game streak and as winners of eight of their last nine. Then the Oil Caps swept Waywayseecappo in four straight games in the opening round of the playoffs.
In game two, Steinbach scored early in the first period but Nathan Driver found the back of the net late in the period to tie things up at 1-1. Fischer had the lone goal in the second session to put Virden up 2-1. On a powerplay in the third, he extended the Oil Caps’ lead to 3-1. Steinbach cut it to 3-2 on a powerplay, but Beau Larson scored for Virden to create the 4-2 final score.
Monteith made 27 saves. Hambley turned away 23 shots.
