Three goals in the first period helped propel the Oil Caps to a 5-2 win over the Winkler Flyers on Friday night at Tundra Oil and Gas Place.
“I thought we were on them all night, we played the body well. We got pucks to the net,” said Oil Caps forward Jack Einarson on the club’s third straight win.
Dylan Thiessen opened the scoring at the 4:15 mark before Tyler Kirkup’s first of two tallies at 12:26 made it 2-0 for the home team. Jeran Knorr would net his 23rd of the season on the power play at the 15-minute mark, giving the Oil Caps a three-goal lead after 20 minutes.
The Oil Caps’ offensive prowess continued in the middle frame as Rylee Zimmer would net his 21st of the year at 11:31 to make it 4-0 for Virden. The Flyers would eventually get on the board as Matt Christian’s goal at 16:41 made things interesting at 4-1.
In what was a rather heated final frame – a period that included two fights – it was the Flyers that got on the board at the 7:30 mark as Weiland Parrish’s marker made it 4-2 before Kirkup’s 34th of the season less than a minute later helped Virden regain their three-goal advantage.
“I thought it was a great game,” said Oil Caps forward Landyn Cochrane, who picked up an assist in the win. “The boys were going from the drop of the puck. It was pucks out, pucks in. Four lines were rolling.”
Riley McVeigh turned aside 30 shots to pick up the win in net for Virden, while Aaron Brunn and Troy Martyniuk combined to make 31 saves in the loss for Winkler.
Extra Notes:
-With the win, the Oil Caps picked up their 36th win of the season and currently have 74 points, one better than the Portage Terriers in what is continuing to be quite the battle for second place in the MJHL standings.
-Tyler Kirkup is currently your league leader in goals with 34.
-The Oil Caps are second in the league in goals for with 236.
-The Twin Valley Co-op three stars are as follows: First star – Dylan Thiessen, second star – Tyler Kirkup, third star – Riley McVeigh.
-The Redfern Farm Services hardest working player for tonight’s game was Kyle Salaway.
-The Oil Caps are back in action tomorrow night at home against the Selkirk Steelers. Game time: 7:30 p.m.