The Virden Oil Capitals won all three of their games last week.
The team enters this week on a four-game winning streak. As of Sunday, the Oil Capitals sat fourth in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League standings with a 25-15-3-4 record. They were one point ahead of fifth-place Selkirk and trailed third-place Steinbach by seven points.
“We have a big weekend ahead of us with three games in three nights,” Virden head coach Troy Leslie said.
The team plays Swan River on the road on Friday and then is in OCN for games on Saturday and Sunday. This starts a six-game road swing. The next home game is Feb. 14.
Cross Honoured
Virden’s own Tristen Cross earned the Recycle Everywhere MJHL Player of the Week honours. The skilled defenceman had three goals and six points in three victories last week. Cross has 11 goals and 30 points in 47 games this season.
Oil Caps 3, Pistons 0
Virden goalie Dalton Dosch recorded his second shutout of the season as the Oil Caps whitewashed Steinbach 3-0 on the road in front of 925 on Jan. 23. Dosch made 25 saves. Captain Ben Dalke had a hand in all of Virden’s goals as he scored two, including a shorthanded marker, and assisted on the other. Kolten Kanaski scored Virden’s other goal. Blake Sidoni had two assists.
“Our complete team game was good that night. … We were pretty dominant the whole night,” said Leslie, who noted that Dosch fended off the Pistons when they made a third period push.
Oil Caps 3, Natives 2 OT
Oil Caps defenceman Jayden Wojciechowski was the hero on Jan. 25 as he scored the overtime winner on the powerplay. The contest in Neepawa had been knotted at 1-1 and 2-2 at the intermissions. The Virden blue line did the lamp lighting as Cross had the team’s other two goals.
“They have been a big part of our offence the last few games,” Leslie said of the blue line.
Dalke recorded two assists. Dosch made 29 saves on 31 shots.
Oil Caps 6, Natives 5
With 753 looking on at Tundra Oil & Gas Place on Jan. 26, the Oil Caps opened the third period with three straight goals to build a 6-3 lead. Neepawa came back to score twice but Virden held on for its fourth straight win.
Virden had trailed 3-2 just over halfway through the second period. The game was tied at 3-3 heading into the third period.
“Our push in the third period before they got it back to 6-5 was really good,” Leslie said.
Oak Lake product Riley Wallace had 26 saves for the Oil Caps. Leslie was pleased with the team’s offensive balance that night as six players scored: Logan Rands, Cross, Hunter Cloutier, Josh Belcher, Jacob Evans, and Dalke.
Cross had three points on the night, while Rands, Belcher, and Tristan Thompson each had two. Dalke and Neepawa’s Brady Whitely fought in the third period and received game misconducts. The Oil Caps signed player cards for fans after the game.
Board Members Added
The Oil Capitals organization have added Darin Banga and Perry Meikle to its board. Both men are active in the community and have supported the team since it moved to Virden in 2012. Meikle has been the game night operations manager since the team’s relocation and billets players.
“Each will bring different areas of expertise to our board of directors,” said Jamie Hodson, Director of Business and Hockey Operations, on the team’s website. “Darin, with his sense of business and community-minded spirit, will help in many areas of our team’s marketing and business goals with the hockey club. Perry with his enthusiasm and love for this hockey club both on and off the ice, will bring a sense of community and a connection to our fan base that he can bring to the board level. Our hockey club and our board of directors, along with our ownership group, is really encouraged to have both these individuals joining our off-ice team.”
