The Virden Oil Capitals were victorious in three of their four contests last week.
Their strong play moved the team into sixth place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League standings. The Oil Caps’ 22-15-2-2 record gave them 48 points. As of Monday, they were one point behind fifth-place Waywayseecappo and five ahead of seventh-place Dauphin. The top eight of the MJHL’s 11 teams make the playoffs.
On Jan. 7, Virden used a three-goal second period to help lift it to a 6-2 road win over Dauphin. Owen Blocker scored twice for the Oil Caps. Two nights later, at home, Brett Paddock and Tanner Andrew each lit the lamp twice as Virden downed Swan Valley, 7-3.
On Jan. 10, Dylan Halliday scored Virden’s third and final goal in a shootout as the Oil Caps earned a 2-1 win over visiting Winkler. Andrew had Virden’s lone regulation goal, which came in the first period. Andrew and Hunter Cloutier also scored in the shootout for the Oil Caps. Virden goalie Ethan Peterson made 33 saves on 34 shots through regulation and overtime.
The Oil Caps fell to the visiting Dauphin Kings, 5-2, on Jan. 12. That brought the team’s seven-game winning streak, which dated back into 2019, to an end.
Showcase
Seven Oil Capitals were chosen to play in the MJHL-Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Showcase on Jan. 21-20 in Regina. The event puts the MJHL’s top players in respect to age group onto three teams, which then compete against their SJHL counterparts. The MJHL teams meet in Virden for practices on Jan. 20.
Team Zajac – White will be stocked with Oil Caps. The 20U team includes defenceman Jayden Wojciechowski and forwards Paddock, Kolten Kanaski, Cloutier, Jack Einarson and Andrew. Oil Capitals defenceman Logan Rands will play for 18U Team Garbutt – Black.
Trades
At the Jan. 10 national trade deadline, the Oil Caps brought a familiar face back to town. They acquired 20-year-old defenceman Darren Gisti from the OCN Blizzard. At the time of the trade, he was eighth among MJHL blue liners in scoring with 27 points, including 10 goals, in 35 games.
The Winnipeg product spent his rookie season, 2016-2017, in Dauphin before being traded to Virden. After recording 13 points in 22 games, he was moved to Waywayseecappo during the 2017-2018 season in a deal that brought Landyn Cochrane, who helped the Oil Caps reach the league finals that season, and the rights to McAuley’s Jake Poole to Virden. Since then Gisti has played for Portage, OCN, and the Winnipeg Blues.
To obtain Gisti, the Oil Caps traded the rights to prospects Cabrel Labossiere, a forward in his 16-year-old season, and Ian Snooks, a 15-year-old forward, as well as future considerations. Virden also traded 20-year-old forward Nolan Dawson to Portage for a player development fee. He had four goals and eight points in 26 games for Virden.
