On a night when the Oil Caps power play broke out, it was the third period that put the Oil Capitals behind in a 6-3 loss to the Stampeders in Swan Valley.
Tanner Andrew, with his first goal of the season, started things off strong for Virden with a power play marker at 4:18 set up by Dylan Halliday and Tristen Cross. Swan Valley would claw back with two power play markers 13 seconds apart at the 18-minute mark as Quintin Sudom and Justin Sverson netted tallies to make it 2-1 for the home team.
Not to be outdone, Virden’s Kolten Kanaski would tie things up late in the first at the 18:43 mark (assisted by Jayden Wojciechowski and Ben Dalke).
The middle frame consisted of some great end-to-end action but only one goal as Hunter Cloutier scored on the power play with just 17 seconds left in the period to give Virden a one-goal lead (assisted by Kanaski and Dalke).
The third period was all Stampeders however as they netted four unanswered as Matthew Osadick (4:30) and Noah Basarab (10:18) would make it 4-3 for Swan Valley before Sudom fired home his second at 13:31 and would later pick up an empty-netter at 17:20 to complete the hat-trick.
Dalton Dosch, playing his fifth straight in net for the Caps, stopped 22 of 27 shots directed his way in the loss, while Michael Davis of the Stamps turned aside 29 of 32 shots to pick up the win between the pipes.
“Our power play was solid tonight as we got it back on track,” said Oil Caps head coach and GM Troy Leslie. “We responded well in the second and fought hard to take the lead at the end of the period. I think overall, we need to do a better job of finishing the game on the road with the lead. We’re learning with every game, and even with the loss there are lots of positives and now we move forward to Thursday.”
The Oil Caps face off at home against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on Thursday Oct. 4 at Tundra Oil and Gas Place in what will be the first Thirsty Thursday of the year. The Oil Caps will be looking to avenge their loss to the Wolverines this past Saturday in Wayway.