The Oil Capitals faced off against the Dauphin Kings in Virden at the Tundra Oil and Gas Place in the Valleyview Coop Home Opener. The fans got their money’s worth with an exciting OT game going the distance in the shootout loss, 2-1 to the Kings.
The night was a success from both the on-ice product to the pre-game ceremonies. David Wowk, of the Valleyview Coop and former Oil Capitals captain and fan favorite, Morgan Magwood, started the evening off with the ceremonial faceoff to start the season. A moment of silence was observed in tribute to the Humboldt Broncos organization. The Westman Wolverines Hockey Organization enjoyed a successful fundraiser BBQ before the game, while local band Prairie Joe, keep the fans in attendance on their feet prior to and during the intermission breaks. All 1,165 fans in attendance enjoyed an exciting evening both on and off the ice.
For the duration of the 1st period, both teams carried momentums at different points, but Virden’s Dalton Dosch and Dauphin’s Brennan Kitchen were solid making many point-blank saves.
Dauphin broke through at the 13:55 point of the 2nd when Marc-Antoine Couture scored on a point shot, off a deflection on Dalton Dosch. Bronson Kelly added an assist on the play. The Oil Capitals owned much of the zone time and possession into the 2nd period but couldn’t solve Kitchen.
Kolten Kanaski tied it up at the 12:07 mark in the 3rd on the PP, with assists to Wojciechowski and Halliday. Both teams had chances to take the lead as the period moved forward, but both Dosch and Kitchen were equal to the challenge in their respective nets.
Many excellent 10-bell chances in OT at both ends of the ice didn’t ice a winner. In the shootout both Dosch and Kitchen made many excellent saves, but Dauphin’s, Nakodan Greyeyes finally solved Dosch, to give Dauphin the shootout winner on their 5th shot.
Dalton Dosch made 27 saves in the hard luck loss. Brennan Kitchen, made 45 saves, to help Dauphin walk away with the 2-points.
Ben Dalke commented on the performance of the team after the game. “last game we kind of took the 2nd period off and it cost us in the end. Today we played a full 60 minutes and took it right to the end but unfortunately, we didn’t get our bounces and that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
“Tonight was a real solid team effort right through our lineup. I liked our teams resilience when we went down a goal.” Stated GM and Head Coach Troy Leslie. “I thought our response in the 3rd period was good. it was good to see our power play get rewarded as we had some good opportunities through the game. it was tough to lose in a shoot out but there was a lot of positives to draw from this game.”