A pair of 18-year-old rookie blueliners have been helping the Virden Oil Capitals this season.
Jayden Wojciechowski and Brayden Pawluk have both earned their place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League team’s lineup. As of late, Pawluk has displayed his versatility as he has been moved to forward with Marco Creta rejoining the team from the Western Hockey League.
“The best part of playing for the Oil Caps this season is getting to be a part of the atmosphere of the organization,” Pawluk said. “Everyone in the organization is all in this year and we’ve all bought in for the long haul. I’ve never played for a team that has been as closely knit as the group of guys on the team this season. The community has shown huge support for us this season on and off the ice. The players and myself are very grateful for our fan base.”
The Oil Capitals went 2-2 in a crazy busy week last week that included three games in as many nights. The Virden team lost twice on the road before wrapping up the week with two big home victories.
“I thought we were a little flat in the two games on the road,” head coach Troy Leslie said. “I thought our guys responded well.”
Leslie said he was pleased with his squad’s battle level in the home games. The team was winning more puck battles and was more aggressive on the puck, he noted. After scoring four goals in their first two games last week, the Oil Caps lit the lamp 13 times in the final two.
“I thought the one thing we haven’t been doing was driving the net through the middle of the ice. We talked about that and guys started doing that again,” said Leslie, who explained that opened up seams and allowed pucks to get to the net.
As of Sunday, the team had a 30-15-2-0 record on the season. Virden was third in the MJHL standings – just one point behind Portage as of Sunday. This weekend the Virden team is slated to play at Winnipeg on Friday and host Portage on Saturday. After the Empire-Advance deadline, the Oil Caps played at Waywayseecappo on Wednesday.
The six-foot, 184-pound Wojciechowski has five goals and 13 points in 37 games this season. Leslie said the rookie is adept at joining the rush.
“He sees the ice well and makes good plays.”
Pawluk is six-feet-1, 186 pounds. He has two goals, six points, and 70 penalty minutes in 37 games.
“He has added a physical presence finishing checks and being hard to play against,” Leslie said of Pawluk moving up to forward.
Pawluk was first listed by the Oil Capitals as a forward. He has played most of his career at that position but at a private Connecticut prep school last year he was switched to defence. When asked about moving back to forward for the Oil Caps, Pawluk said, “I’m always willing to help out the team in any way possible.”
While Teulon’s Pawluk headed to the US to develop his game, Wojciechowski played midget AAA in his hometown of Thunder Bay. He chose to play Junior A in Virden for a couple of reasons.
“What drew me to pick the Oil Caps was the amount of interest they showed towards me and the great facility that they have,” Wojciechowski said.
The MJHL is a step up from the levels Wojciechowski and Pawluk played at before.
“The biggest adjustment to Junior A has been moving away from home and getting used to playing faster paced hockey,” Wojciechowski said.
Natives 5, Oil Caps 2
Neepawa got off to an early lead on Jan. 24 at home and went on to beat the Oil Capitals, 5-2. The Natives led 2-0 and 3-0 at the intermissions. The Oil Caps were able to score twice in the final period.
Tyler Kirkup and Justin Lee had Virden’s goals. Oil Caps goalie Riley McVeigh made 22 saves on 28 shots. Neepawa’s Spencer Eschyschyn had 35 saves.
Stampeders 3, Oil Caps 2
A three-goal second period led the Swan Valley Stampeders past the Oil Capitals 3-2. Virden led 1-0 after the first period on the road on Jan. 27. After the Stampeders took a 3-1 lead, the Oil Caps pulled to within a goal in the third period but were unable to tie things up.
Kirkup and Kolten Kanaski did Virden’s scoring. Jeran Knorr recorded two assists for the Oil Caps. Virden’s Dalton Dosch had 32 saves. Ethan Peterson made 39 saves for the Stampeders.
Oil Caps 6, Stampeders 3
The Oil Caps rebounded the next night to down the Stampeders, 6-3, in front of 802 at Tundra Oil & Gas Place on Jan. 28. Virden consistently scored two goals each period en route to the victory.
Landyn Cochrane and Kirkup each had two goals and an assist. Other goals came from Lee and Graeme Hore. Lycar recorded three assists. McVeigh made 32 saves to win his 19th game of the season. Virden had 44 shots. Stamps goalie Brett Evans stopped 38 of them.
In a pregame ceremony, the Oil Capitals honoured late RCMP Const. Dennis Onofrey, who died in the line of duty on Jan. 23, 1978 while stationed in Virden.
Oil Caps 7, Natives 2
At home, Virden avenged a loss earlier in the week to the Natives. After a scoreless first period, with 746 looking on, Virden outscored Neepawa 4-1 in the second session to take command of the Jan. 28 game. The Oil Caps added three goals in the third.
Dylan Thiessen and Cochrane each had two goals and an assist. Kirkup recorded two assists. He was a runner-up for the Recycle Everywhere MJHL Player of the Week award with eight points in four games. Leslie praised the play of Kirkup and Cochrane last week. The head coach also emphasized that as a group of six, the defence was playing well.
Dosch made 29 saves for the win. Neepawa’s Brendan Benoit started and made 41 saves on 48 shots. Spencer Eschyschyn came on in relief and made one save.
