The Virden Oil Capitals produced their second consecutive solid effort against a formidable foe in the Steinbach Pistons on Saturday night but wound up falling short by a score of 3-1.
Brendan Martin put the Pistons on the board first at the 18:37 mark of the first period. Martin’s fourth of the season was the lone goal scored until the third period as Tyler Kirkup would respond for the Oil Caps at the 5:57 mark of the final frame to tie the score at one apiece.
Despite several scoring chances throughout the contest – including several opportunities in the third period – the Oil Caps’ efforts to take the lead fell short and it was the Pistons who wound up taking the lead for good as Declan Graham scored the game winner late in the contest, while William Koop supplied the empty netter to ice the game for Steinbach.
Matthew Thiessen made 36 saves to pick up the win in net for the Pistons, helping them vault to the top of the MJHL standings as of late Saturday night, improving to 19-6-1-0, one point better than the OCN Blizzard. Meanwhile, Riley McVeigh took the loss between the pipes for Virden, turning aside 33 shots as the Oil Caps dropped to 15-9-0-0.
The Oil Caps next game action is next Thursday when they host the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. Puck drop for that contest will be shortly after 7:30 p.m.