Last Friday night the Oil Capitals beat Neepawa 4-2 at home. The next night in Neepawa, the Titans prevailed 6-2.
“I thought we played two very different games against Neepawa,” head coach Tyson Ramsey said. “On Friday we got down early but stuck to our game plan and were able to settle in through the second and then had a very good third period. Brody Wilson's line was particularly good and scored two big goals including the winner by being heavy to play against and muscling their way to the net.
“On Saturday, we got behind early and could not recover. Our powerplay was stagnant and we weren't hard enough to play against with a desperate Titans team that needed a win. We need to get back to what makes us successful and that is outworking teams and being hard to play against in all three zones.”
After hosting the Winkler Flyers on Tuesday and the OCN Blizzard on Wednesday, the Oil Caps (10-8-0-0, as of Monday) are in Dauphin Saturday to play the Kings.
Last Friday night rookie Nicholas Guberman tied the contest in the second period and scored the winning goal in the third. Neepawa had taken a 1-0 lead on a first period powerplay. Defenceman David Bielik tied the score at 1-1 on the powerplay in the second session. Neepawa went ahead 2-1 less than three minutes later. Then Guberman scored to knot things up at 2-2. His third period marker put Virden on top 3-2. Davis Chorney added an insurance goal in the 4-2 win. Virden goalie Owen LaRocque made 29 saves.
Scoring for Neepawa were Will Highet and Mason Hartley. Titans netminder Mason Lobreau had 33 saves on 36 shots.
Brett Sabel was the Gardewine Hardest Working Player. Naton Miller, who recorded two assists, was named the first star. Guberman was the second star. Captain Brody Wilson, who had two assists, was the third star. Virden’s Ethan Guthrie and Cameron Trimble dropped the gloves in the third period.
Last Saturday, the host Titans jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead and went up 3-0 in the second. The Oil Caps made it 3-1 by the second intermission. However, the Titans scored three goals, including a shorthanded marker, in the third period before Virden was able to get one back. Nolan Chastko and Naton Miller scored for Virden. Oil Caps goalie Eric Reid stopped 25 shots.
The Titans got 41 saves from Mason Lobreau. Their goals came from Parker Korman, Garrett MacDonald, Mason Hartley, Hayden Stocks, Connor Thompson, and Josh Romanyk.
Lehto Honoured
Oil Caps rookie forward Josh Lehto was tabbed as the MJHL’s Chevrolet Rookie of the Month. He recorded five goals and 12 points in 11 games. As of Monday, Lehto was second among MJHL rookies in points with 16 and paced first-year players with nine goals. He leads the Oil Caps in goals. Lehto is tied with Davis Chorney for the team points lead.
Prospects Showcase
Talented players from across the league will compete in the MJHL Top Prospects Showcase Nov. 15-16 in Portage. Two 18U and four 20U squads will put their talents on display for scouts from various levels of hockey. Complete rosters had not been named at press time, but Oil Caps Chastko, David Bielik and Joey Bielik had been announced as preliminary selections.
