The Oil Caps defeated the Dauphin Kings 3-0 on Saturday night at Tundra Oil and Gas Place.
The first period had power play opportunities for both teams, but both goaltenders stood tall, keeping the game scoreless after 20 minutes.
In the second, the Oil Caps opened the scoring just 55 seconds into the period as Kolten Kanaski scored (assisted by Tristen Cross and netminder Dalton Dosch) to make it 1-0 for Virden.
The score remained that way until the third as Kanaski fired home his second tally of the night and 11th of the season at the 4:42 mark (assisted by Blake Sidoni and Ben Dalke) to make it 2-0. Cross picked up an empty netter late in the game to seal the deal for the Oil Caps.
Dosch stopped all 23 shots he faced in net to pick up the shutout and his fifth win of the year for Virden, while Brennan Kitchen took the loss between the pipes for the Kings, stopping 37 of 39 shots directed his way.
“Really proud of our group,” said Oil Caps assistant coach Tyson Ramsey after the game. “I thought we were a little sloppy in the first period, but in the second and third we did really well. We did a lot of little things right. We were solid on faceoffs tonight and started with the puck a lot. We managed the puck well through the neutral zone and made them come 200 feet as much as we could. When we did get chances to bury, we did. The adversity we faced early on this season is something that is paying off for us right now and these guys are working hard.”
The Oil Capitals face off against the Steinbach Pistons next on Nov. 15 at Tundra Oil and Gas Place. Puck drop is 7:30.