Tonight’s Game Notes:
Welcome fans to tonight’s game four of the MJHL quarter-final series featuring the visiting Winkler Flyers (4) and your hometown Virden Oil Capitals (5). Tonight’s game is brought to you by Fox Tail Hauling Ltd.
Game four of a series is always pivotal. Teams can be on the verge of sweeping by this point (ie.. every other MJHL quarter-final), take a stranglehold on a series, or be all even to create a best-of-three scenario. For the Oil Caps, they’ll be working for the latter.
It’s debatable that the Oil Caps have been the better team so far in the series despite what the results have showed. However, you’ve got to give credit to the Flyers for playing in the clutch. Each of the last two games have gone to overtime and both times someone from their club has stepped up to end it when it’s mattered most.
Last game it was Virden’s own, Cameron Whyte, who played the role of overtime hero for the Flyers. After the Oil Caps failed to capitalize on a couple goal mouth scrums, Winkler took advantage of a turnover at the Oil Caps’ blue line which led to the game winning goal at the 9:06 (10 min overtime) mark of the first overtime period. The game was a low scoring affair that saw Tristan Keck give the Flyers a 1-0 second period lead. It wasn’t until 14:20 of the third that the Oil Caps pulled even with Soren Frederiksen’s first of the playoffs on the power play. The Oil Caps maintained the pressure during the final five minutes, but couldn’t find a way to beatDevon Fordyce. The Flyers gained the 2-1 series lead despite being out shot 43-32 on the night.
Tonight is shaping up to be another good one. A couple pieces that were missing from the Flyers lineup on Sunday was their captain, Patrice Wren along with game two goal scorer,Kayden Jarvis. Time will tell if either of these players will suit up tonight or not. As for the Oil Caps, they’re playing without Jake Dudar and Brett Sharples – two players who are out with season ending injuries.
Throughout the first three games of the series, the Oil Caps have been outscored 8-7 by the Flyers, but have outshot their opponents 121-87. This is no fault to net minder, Sean Kuehn, who has given Virden every opportunity to be up 3-0 in this series. Virden’s power play is 2-for-17 in the first three games (12%) while the Flyers are 1-for-12 with the man advantage (8%). Maybe this is a credit to the two teams’ penalty kill, but if either team could get their power play clicking, they would set themselves up nicely to advance to the next round.
The end of the rainbow will fall on Tundra Oil & Gas Place tonight as the 50/50 pot of gold is once again GUARANTEED for $2,500. Congratulations to last game’s winner, Bob Senff, who took home $2,865.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Let’s hope the luck of the Irish falls on the sticks of the Virden players tonight. Wear your green and show your support as the Oil Caps look to tie the series in tonight’s game four.