The Oil Capitals won their first regular season game last night in Selkirk against the Steelers. Virden kicked off the scoring with 3 goals in the first period, 2 of which were scored on the power play. Leaving the first period score at 3-0 for The Oil Capitals. The Steelers also took advantage of the power play, scoring their first in the second period, on the power play. It didn’t take long for Virden to regain their lead, scoring their fourth just 14 seconds later. That made the score after the second period 4-1 for the Oil Capitals. Selkirk opened the third period scoring early, but Virden scored one late. This made the final score 5-2 for the Virden Oil Capitals.
The first period was a busy one for Virden. Oil Capital Josh Belcher scored his first of regular season on the power play, at 6:01. Giving Virden the early 1-0 lead. The Oil Capitals put another one on the board just a few minutes later. Jack Einarson scored his first at 9:07. Putting Virden up 2-0. Virden scored again just 37 seconds later. Tanner Andrew took advantage of the power play to score his first of regular season at 9:44. This extended the Oil Capitals lead to 3-0 by the end of the first period.
Selkirk opened the second period scoring, with Brett Namaka scoring his first of regular season on the power play. That goal was scored at 8:05 and made the score 3-1 with Virden still leading. However just 14 seconds later Dylan Halliday scored his first of regular season, at 8:19. This made the Virden lead 4-1 at the end if the second period.
Selkirk opened the scoring in the third period early when Blake Burr scored his first of regular season, making the score 4-2. Scoring at 4:43 the Steelers had momentum starting to turn in their direction. Late in the third the Oil Capitals took away the momentum as Hunter Andrew scored his first on a breakaway. The goal, scored at 16:25, left the final score at 5-2 for the Virden Oil Capitals
Virden’s Dalton Dosch stopped 37 of 39 shots gaining his first win of the season. Selkirk’s Levi Mitchell stopped 21 of 26 shots, gaining his first loss of the season.
Head Coach Tyson Ramsey said this about last nights game, “I thought it was a good first game for our group. We had good speed and settled some nerves by getting on the board early. We continue to work on our game without the puck and tonight will be another tough test. It will be a grind to win every night in this league and we are certainly looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd tonight!” Assistant Coach Reid Gow had this to say about last night’s game, “Really proud of our group’s first game together we competed hard and found a way to close out a tough game. Excited to see how we respond and keep moving forward tonight!”
2018 1st rounder Roux Bazin has been reassigned to Manitoba AAA Hockey League’s Pembina Valley Hawks. Bazin will be AP’d at different times throughout the season.