Despite another solid effort in front of their home fans, the Oil Caps wound up dropping a 3-2 decision in a shootout to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on Thursday night at Tundra Oil and Gas Place.
No goals were scored in the first period as both teams battled hard to take the lead. The Oil Caps wound up outshooting the Wolverines in the period 7-5.
Virden got on the board first in what was a strong middle frame for the Oil Caps, outshooting the Wolverines 9-3. Josh Belcher netted a shorthanded tally (unassisted) at the 2:22 mark (his first of the season) to make it 1-0 for the home team. The one-goal lead was short-lived however as Brady Pupp would respond less than two minutes later on the power play with his second of the season at 4:03 to tie it 1-1.
Both teams traded scoring chances in the third period, but it was the road squad who found the back of the net first. New acquired, Trygve Many Guns netted his fourth goal of the year (his first as a Wolverine) at the 7:26 mark to make it 2-1 before Virden’s Tristan Thompson picked up his second of the season with the man advantage at 11:08 (assisted by Tanner Andrew and Brett Paddock), tying the score once again at 2-2.
Both teams fought hard for that elusive game winner in overtime as both netminders stood tall between the pipes for their respective squads. Oil Caps netminder Riley Wallace turned aside 29 shots, including six in overtime, in a very solid performance in his first MJHL start. Not to be outdone, Isaac Labelle stopped 28 of 30 shots directed his way for the Wolverines.
The shootout saw only one puck find the back of the net and it was off the stick of Trygve Many Guns as the Wolverines pulled out the 3-2 shootout victory.
“Tonight, was another step in the right direction for our team,” said Oil Caps head coach and GM Troy Leslie. “I thought it was a real solid 60-minute effort. Wayway is an older team and a hard team to play against and I thought we handled ourselves well tonight.”
The Oil Caps travel to Wayway to take on the Wolverines once again on Saturday night. Game time for that contest is 7:30 p.m.