The Virden Oil Kings and the Miniota-Elkhorn C-Hawks are both succeeding this North Central Hockey League season.
The Virden senior men’s team is 8-5-0-0 and enjoying its best season in many years. As of Monday, the Oil Kings were tied for fourth in the NCHL.
The perennially strong C-Hawks are flying again. They are 10-1-0-2 on the season and sit in first place.
Oil Kings Success
What has allowed the Oil Kings to be successful this season? Coach Blair Koop said commitment has been a key.
“We haven't traveled out of town with less than three lines. As a matter of fact, we had to healthy scratch guys for both home and away games up until the Christmas break. Every home game we have had a full bench. In senior hockey, that is huge. The extra legs are what gives us that extra push in the third period of each game.
“It's also been a team the whole way through. A bond has developed between everyone in that room. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don't have that bond like these guys do you won't see too much productivity on the ice.”
Through 13 games, the Oil Kings have lit the lamp 81 times. That tops the NCHL. Former Virden Oil Capitals junior player Tanner Lewis is second in the NCHL in points with 35 and leads the league with 22 goals. Teammate Drake Bodie is tenth with 24 points. Koop said discipline and depth have helped the offence.
“The guys take their licks and bite their tongues better than I ever thought they would. I've known some of these guys for years and I know it's hard for some of them. If you’re not in the box, the game is a lot easier. If teams try to stop our first two lines, we have a third and a fourth that are very capable of putting the puck in the net, which has been proven a lot this year. It's very hard in any caliber of hockey to beat a team with four lines that are going hard.”
Virden has also proven adept at keeping the puck out of its net. The Oil Kings are tied for second in the league in goals against. Goalies Ryan Mathieson and Josh Peterson are big reasons why.
“We have two of the best goaltenders in the league right now,” Koop said. “It is honestly a tossup on who to play on any given night. They both are giving us the chance to win and that's all you can ask of them.
“We also have eight good skating, strong defencemen that can catch you coming down the middle or run you into the boards. We have added Colin Paul to our roster, which has already turned out to be huge and only solidifies our defence even more.”
C-Hawks Brothers
For the C-Hawks, success has been all in the family. The squad’s roster includes six sets of brothers in: Curtis and Cory Gardham; Devon, Ian, and Curtis Oliver; Travis and Jamie Sheane; Kyle and Kelsey McLeod; Dillin and Devrin Stonehouse; and Sean and Robyn McKean. When asked about playing with his two brothers, Curtis Oliver said:
“The best part would be all through hockey we grew up watching each other play and now we are playing together and all of us are having success on the team – it’s nice to share that with them.”
In addition to the players that are brothers, coach Tyler Mitchell and player Jordan Mitchell are brothers. Some players are brothers-in-law. To go further with the family ties, player Duncan Lelond is the son of manager Mac Lelond.
As well as the family bond, the C-Hawks have depth. For example, four C-Hawks are in the top 20 in the NCHL in scoring; Dillin Stonehouse (26 points, seventh), Kelsey McLeod (20, 12th), Kyle Mcleod (20, 13th), and Curtis Oliver (18, 17th).
“I think that our depth is our most essential asset on our team,” coach Tyler Mitchell said. “Up front, we feel we have two of the most potent offensive lines in the league. Beyond that, we can ice an impressive third and fourth line as well. It's a good problem to have as a coach, but it's often tough when you know guys deserve more ice time than they are getting simply because we are so deep.”
The depth up front has gotten even greater with former University of Manitoba player Shawn Bowles joining the team. On the backend, former junior standouts Stacey Lowes and Devrin Stonehouse, who also played university hockey, were big additions this season and have helped solidify the blue line. In addition, the C-Hawks are confident in both netminders: Cory Gardham (league-best 2.65 goal against average) and Ian Oliver.
