Pistons expect push back from Oil Caps

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This article was published 25/04/2023 (1233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Steinbach Pistons have done a number on the Virden Oil Capitals, posting 4-0 and 3-0 victories to open the Manitoba Junior Hockey League final.

Pistons star left-winger Ty Paisley had no illusions about making easy work of the Caps. He’s anticipating a tough slog in Wednesday’s Game 3, slated for a 7:30 p.m. at Virden’s Tundra Oil & Gas Place.

“They’re just a team that’s never gonna back down,” said Paisley by phone from Steinbach Tuesday afternoon. “I think they were down 2-0 in their (semifinal) series with Portage and they came back from that. So they have no quit in them. It’s gonna be tough.”

Keys to Steinbach’s success were goaltender Dominik Wasik, who has stopped all 59 shots he’s faced in the series, and a committed defensive effort.

“We’re just playing our game and that’s helping,” said Paisley, who leads all playoff scorers with nine goals and 24 points in 15 games. “It’s probably (because) we’re keeping it more simple in the D-zone. Getting pucks out off the glass, being more physical with out net battles and boxing players out.”

Oil Caps leading scorer Nolan Chastko admitted his club needs to recommit itself in the offensive zone. Virden was scoreless on a combined eight power-play opportunities in Games 1 and 2.

“I’d say the biggest thing there for us was probably just not getting pucks and traffic to the net,” said Chastko. “I wouldn’t say (the Pistons) did anything different. It was just more more on us…

“Throughout the playoffs we have had games where we’ve had trouble scoring and haven’t been willing to go to that dirty areas, you could say, to score goals.”

The Oil Caps had a quick turnaround, playing Steinbach in Game 1 only three days after outlasting the Portage Terriers in a 3-2 double overtime win in Game 7 of their semifinal Wednesday night. The Pistons advanced two days earlier, dispatching the Swan Valley Stampeders in six games.

“I think (fatigue was a factor) a little but at the end of the day everyone’s tired around this time of year so we don’t like to use that as as an excuse at all,” said Chastko, who sniped twice in Tuesday’s Game 7 and is second in post-season scoring with 16 points, including nine goals, in 10 games. “I wouldn’t say that’s fully what it was but it’s obviously not not the start we wanted.”

The Caps will also host Game 4 in the best-of-seven series Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Game 5, if necessary, is back in Steinbach Saturday.

“I think all of us are super excited to play play in front of the great fans that we have here in Virden,” said Chastko. “The rink should be electric and that’s definitely something we’ve fed off in the regular season and have continued to do so in the playoffs.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca