Skip to content

Oil Caps This Week

After record-setting regular season, Oil Caps ready for Steelers
OC 02
McNeill, Harasymchuk, McConnell Top Scorer: Tyler Kirkup

After posting their best regular season since coming to town, the Virden Oil Capitals are striving for a long playoff run.

The team, which moved from Winnipeg in 2012, recorded 40 victories this winter, surpassing the 37 games it won in 2015-2016.  Virden finished in second place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The squad will face the No. 7-seed Selkirk Steelers in the first round of the playoffs.

Jamie Hodson, the team’s director of business and hockey operations, emphasized that everyone from partners to billets to fans to everyone involved played a role in the team’s great regular season.

“This is really a community effort. We are all a part,” said Hodson, who also emphasized this at last week’s Oil Capitals banquet.

Playoffs

The Oil Capitals (40-17-2-1) and the Steelers (31-25-3-1) kick off their best-of-seven series on Saturday at the Tundra Oil & Gas Place. The next day the teams will square off in Selkirk. The Oil Capitals will host game three on Mar. 13. On Mar. 16, the action is back in Selkirk. The next night, if needed, the teams will play in Virden.

Hodson said it should be an exciting and entertaining series for fans. He expects to see a fast pace and some physical, playoff hockey. The teams were 3-3 against each other this season with Virden being 3-1 versus the Steelers in the New Year.

“They have some good depth up front. They have some experience up front. They have a big backend. … Their goaltending can win games.”

In regards to playoff success, Virden head coach Troy Leslie said, “We always say we want our special teams to be special.” He stressed the team needs to be disciplined to stay out of the penalty box and to play with pace to create power-play opportunities.

Virden’s own Tyler Kirkup led the Oil Capitals with 75 points in 60 games. Kirklan Lycar was second with 67 while Kyle Salaway had 63. Hometown product Tristen Cross paced the Virden blue line with 38 points. In net, Riley McVeigh had a 26-12 record with a 2.83 goals against average and .902 save percentage.

Offensively, the Steelers are led by Connor Barley. The 20-year-old had 35 goals and 67 points in 58 games. Nico Labossiere led the team with 42 assists and was second with 64 points. Captain Ryan Gardiner led the Selkirk defencemen with 41 points. Goalie Hayden Dola had an 18-16-3 record with a 3.12 goals against average and .915 save percentage.

Regular season

On the ice, as well as in the community, it was the effort of many that helped the Oil Capitals succeed.

“I think it has been a team effort. … We play four lines on any night. We have spread out scoring for the most part,” said Hodson, who noted the team has a special group this season.

Leslie noted that Virden has six forwards who have averaged 0.97 points per game or better. He said that depth has helped the squad score more goals five-on-five this season, which has been a big part of the team’s success.

In addition to depth up front, the Oil Capitals have also had various contributors on the backend. With veterans like Morgan Magwood and Cross leading the way, the team’s young defencemen have developed and contributed. Leslie praised the D-core’s ability to get the puck up to the forwards. The team has stressed getting four guys on the rush. In goal, McVeigh has been playing his best the last 10 games, said Hodson, who also praised the play of backup Dalton Dosch.

While the Oil Capitals were winning, they were also focused on preparing players for the next step – whether that be in hockey (rookie Justin Lee earned an NCAA Division 1 scholarship to the University of Denver) or life, Hodson said. He pointed to such efforts as an emphasis on academics and the additions of Patty Hole as the power skating instructor and Brock Davies as the strength and conditioning coach.

Player Honours

In the Oil Capitals’ final regular season home game, Virden’s own Tyler Kirkup scored his 40th goal of the season. That was the most scored in the MJHL this season.

“It was unreal,” said Kirkup, on the Oil Caps website, about the goal. “All the guys congratulated me and it’s probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in junior hockey.”

Lycar paced the league in assists with 57 assists in 60 games.

“I think of myself as a playmaker so accumulating assists and making plays is always fun! While it was a nice accomplishment, I feel like a statistic like assists is something I couldn't have accomplished without my teammates. They're the ones putting the puck in the net,” Lycar said.

McVeigh was a runner-up for the MGEU MJHL Goaltender of the Month for February. He won six of his nine games during the month.

Dylan Thiessen was named the Meyers Norris Penny Oil Caps Player of the Month for February. He had four goals and 10 points in 10 games. Earlier this season Thiessen hit the 200 games played in the MJHL – an impressive milestone.

Oil Caps 6, Neepawa 2

On the road on Mar. 2, the Oil Capitals held a 3-1 lead going into the final period. With three goals in the third, the team wrapped up its road schedule with a 6-2 victory.

Virden outshot the Natives, 47-33. Kirkup, who the night before had been named the team’s MVP, scored two goals. Cross along with teammates Salaway, Graeme Hore, and Rylee Zimmer also lit the lamp. McVeigh made 31 saves.

Oil Caps 6, Dauphin 2

With a 6-2 victory on Fan Appreciation Night on Mar. 3, the Oil Capitals sewed up second place in the MJHL. They finished one point, 83-82, ahead of the Portage Terriers.

Virden led 4-0 at the first intermission and 4-1 at the second. Cross, Salaway, Kirkup, Zimmer, Josh Belcher, and Jack Einarson scored for the Oil Capitals. McVeigh picked up the win with 24 saves and earned his first point of the season. He assisted on the game’s final goal.

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks