The Virden Oil Capitals split their two-game series last weekend with the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Last Friday, the Oil Caps earned a 3-1 road victory. The next night, in front of 594 at the Tundra Oil and Gad Place, the hosts fell 5-1. That ended a three-game winning streak that included a 10-3 dominant road victory on Feb. 15 over Waywayseecappo, which was reported in the last issue of the Empire-Advance.
The Oil Capitals entered this week sitting third in the MJHL’s West division with a 22-19-4-0 record. They were one point in the standings ahead of Swan Valley (21-21-1-4), who are the competition again this weekend. The two teams tangle in Virden on Friday and Swan River on Saturday.
Last week Virden assistant captain Dylan Halliday played in his 150th Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s game. On social media, the Oil Caps recognized him along with captain Logan Rands, who achieved the same milestone earlier in the month. As of Tuesday, Virden forward Braden Fischer paced the MJHL in goals with 29 in 45 games. Teammate Nathan Driver was third with 27 in 46 contests. Fischer sat second in the league with 63 points. Virden rookie Carson Buydens led all MJHL first-year players with 42 points in 45 outings.
On the road on Feb. 18, the Oil Caps and Stamps were knotted at 1-1 at the first intermission. Buydens put Virden on top 2-1 in the second period. Tyler Thoendel lit the lamp in the third for his second of the night after scoring shorthanded in the first. Oil Caps netminder Bailey Monteith made 22 saves. Stampeders goalie Dylan Black had 20.
“I thought we played a very solid game on the road on Friday night,” Virden head coach Tyson Ramsey said. “We defended well as a group, and I thought we created offence by getting into the tougher areas of the ice. Bailey was solid but I liked that he didn't have to be outstanding for us to win. That means we didn't give up a lot. It was a solid game from all of our guys.”
Last Saturday, Swan Valley led 1-0 after the first period. Fischer knotted the game at 1-1, but the Oil Caps could not score again. The Stamps had two goals in the second session and added a pair in the third. Monteith stopped 36 shots for Virden. Kobe Grant turned away 38 of Virden’s 39 shots.
“On Saturday night, I think the game was won and lost at both net fronts,” Ramsey said. “We didn't go hard enough to theirs to get second and third chances against a very good goaltender and then I thought we were too soft at our net front. We made some costly errors in tight and eventually those find the back of the net. I thought we had the puck lots but spent a lot of time on the outside in their end and, as a result, couldn't generate much offensive momentum.”
