The Oil Caps were hoping for their third win a row on Sunday night, but the club’s comeback bid late in the contest fell short as Virden dropped a 3-1 decision to the Pistons in Steinbach.
In a rematch of last year’s MJHL championship final, both clubs battled hard in the opening frame, but it was the goaltenders who stood tall as Dalton Dosch of the Oil Caps and Matthew Radomsky of the Pistons kept both clubs off the scoreboard after 20 minutes.
The Pistons opened the scoring at the 7:15 mark of the second period as Brady Tatro fired home his 13thof the season on the power play as the home team carried a 1-0 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.
Aiden Wagner’s third of the year provided Steinbach with a two-goal advantage less than three minutes into the third (2:52) before Jack Kilroy’s second of the season gave the home team a three-goal cushion at the 9:38 mark.
Despite the deficit on the scoreboard, the Oil Caps continued to persevere and it would pay off later in the period as Logan Rands netted his first MJHL goal of his career on the power play (assisted by Dylan Halliday and Ben Dalke) at 13:37 to make it 3-1.
The Oil Caps pushed late in the game in an effort to climb back into this one, but it just wasn’t meant to be on this night.
Radomsky stopped 20 of 21 shots directed his way for the win in net for Steinbach, while Dosch made 38 saves in the loss for Virden.
Tyson Ramsey, Oil Caps assistant coach, says the contest was a tale of two games in that there were parts that were good and then there were parts where he felt the team didn’t compete hard enough.
“We got caught standing still in our own end at times, and as a result, sat in the penalty box too much and killing penalties can wear down certain guys,” Ramsey said. “We certainly saw some good things from our group and we need to build on those moving forward.”
Next up for the Oil Caps: a home game on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Blues. Game time: 7:30 p.m.