After the senior squad was limited by the COVID-19 pandemic to just two contests in the 2020-2021 season, the Oil Kings entered this winter’s campaign with an eye on making it to the THHL West Division finals. Mission accomplished. As the division’s third, Virden swept No. 6 Melita, 2-0, in the first round and got by No. 2 Killarney, 3-1. In the West finals, the Oil Kings fell 3-0 to Boissevain, the division’s top seed which went a league-best 18-0-0-0 in the regular season.
“As we expected, we had our hands full with Melita in the first round but managed to survive that series and face a Killarney team that has been in the last five division finals, winning three of them,” Virden general manager Ryan Mathieson said. “We saw Killarney as a measuring stick all year and knew we’d need to get through them to get to the finals. Winning that series and accomplishing our goal was huge for our group, establishing ourselves in the first year in a competitive THHL. It also gave our fans a chance to show how Virden gets behind senior hockey.”
Oil Kings captain Keifer Johnston said the fans created a great atmosphere in the playoffs.
“The team can’t thank everyone enough for coming out to support the Oil Kings this year,” he said. “With it being fans, family, friends and all the behind-the-scenes volunteers, who do not get enough credit, we cannot thank them enough.”
In the regular season, the Oil Kings were targeting a top three finish in the division to delay a match up with a loaded Boissevain team. The Border Kings boasted three of the league’s top five scorers, including former Virden Oil Capitals junior players Kirklan Lycar and Rylee Zimmer. The Oil Kings were 0-3 out of the gate. They rebounded to win their next four.
‘We had a great group of guys this year and were able to gel quickly after a year off and some new faces along the way,” Mathieson said. “We didn’t have the start to the season we wanted, but found our grove, built some momentum and carved out an identity.”
“We found our game, got into third by Christmas and never let it up.” The squad posted a 10-8-0-0 overall regular season record.
“We have a young team but never lacked leadership in the room, with various guys stepping up, either making sacrifices off the ice to get to games, or making big plays on the ice,” Mathieson said. “You need that in senior hockey, the players drive the bus and our guys really stepped up this year and it showed in our success. The support the town has shown us has been phenomenal this season, with the big crowds and the generous sponsors goes a long way for us.”
