The Virden Oil Capitals opened the third and final round of the playoffs Friday night with a 4-1 loss to the Niverville Nighthawks at the Niverville CRRC.
In a physical, playoff-style battle, the Nighthawks capitalized on special teams and key moments to take an early 1-0 series lead.
The Nighthawks opened the scoring early in the first period, as Phillips found the back of the net on the power play at 2:49, giving Niverville an early edge. Virden had chances to respond but couldn’t solve Niverville goaltender Dubinsky, and the Oil Caps trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Niverville extended its lead early in the second period when Leduc scored, making it 2-0. The Oil Caps answered midway through the frame, as Osiowy got Virden on the board, finishing a play from Goertzen to cut the deficit in half. However, the momentum shift was short-lived. Just over a minute later, Zeller restored Niverville’s two-goal lead with a power-play goal at 11:47, sending the Nighthawks into the third period up 3-1.
The third period saw Niverville continue to control the pace. Leduc added his second of the night, once again on the power play, extending the lead to 4-1 and putting the game out of reach.
Niverville finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Oil Caps were unable to capitalize on their opportunities, going 0-for-5, proving to be a key difference in the game.
Goaltender Burdeny made 24 saves on 28 shots, keeping Virden within striking distance through much of the game. At the other end, Dubinsky was sharp, turning aside 30 of 31 shots to secure the win for the Nighthawks.
Virden outshot Niverville 31-28, but couldn’t find the finishing touch needed to swing momentum.
Despite the loss, the Oil Caps showed flashes of strong play at even strength and will look to regroup heading into Game 2.
With the series just getting underway, Virden will aim to bounce back quickly and even things up Sunday night in Virden.
Final Score
Niverville Nighthawks 4
Virden Oil Capitals 1
Series
Niverville leads Round 3 series 1-0
