Red-hot Virden giving Steinbach all it can handle in MJHL semifinal

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This article was published 19/04/2022 (1596 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Virden Oil Capitals finished 23 points behind the Steinbach Pistons during the 2021-22 MJHL regular season. It’s a number with little significance.

Probably a better indicator of Virden’s quality should be the club’s stretch run. Starting on Feb. 12, the Caps won 11 of their final 13 games and outscored the opposition 58-39.

It’s no surprise then that the third-place finishers in the West Division went on to sweep the second-place Waywayseecappo Wolverines in the opening round of the post-season and split the opening two games of their semifinal series with the powerhouse Pistons, first-place finishers in the East.

Steinbach beat the Caps 5-4 in overtime in Saturday’s Game 1 before the visitors responded with a 4-2 win Sunday, setting up a pivotal Game 3 in the best-of-seven series Wednesday at Virden’s Tundra Gas and Oil Place.

Expect Winnipegger Braden Fischer to be a key figure. He centres Virden’s top line with right-winger Nathan Driver and left-winger Tyler Thoendel. Fischer notched a hat-trick in the opener and scored twice to put the Caps ahead for good in Game 2.

He believed his team, which also hosts Game 4 Thursday, played well enough to win the opening two contests.

“(Game 1) is in overtime so it’s just one shot either way and they got that one, but we were just as confident coming to the next game,” said Fischer, who was third in league scoring with 74 points in 52 games during the regular season.

“We had a lot of support actually. We have a lot of kids from Winnipeg, and some from Niverville, too, so there were a lot of our parents and friends and family at the game. There was a pretty awesome ‘Go Caps go,’ chant. So, we kind of rallied behind them and were able to take Game 2.”

Virden head coach and general manager Tyson Ramsey watched his club lose Game 1 on Zach Power’s winner 24 seconds into OT.

“I didn’t think we defended the front of our net as hard as we needed to and then just overskated the puck to give them a 2-on-1 at the net front to win the game,” said Ramsey. “So, it was a tough one. It would have been nice to come out of there with the first one but then I thought, like we have done all year, we rebounded really well. In Game 2, I liked our compete and I thought we defended better. They took an early lead and we didn’t panic. We stuck to our game plan and I’m real proud of our guys for coming out of there with a split.”

After losing both games to the Pistons during the regular season, Fischer said the Caps found a way to succeed at Steinbach’s quirky T.G. Smith Arena.

“The neutral zone is a fraction of the size of the regular rink and so we found ourselves offside a lot,” said Fischer. “But it’s something we adapted to, right? We just focused on getting pucks over the red line and maybe not skating it in but chipping it in and going to get it and retrieving it that way, instead.”

A sellout crowd in excess of 1,200 fans is expected Wednesday in Virden. It’s a place where Fischer has found chemistry with Thoendel and Driver, a trade deadline acquisition from the Winnipeg Freeze.

“I’ve been playing with (Tyler) all my life,” said Fischer. “I grew up with him in Fort Garry. We played for the Twins and the Monarchs together and we’ve reconnected in in Virden and it’s been pretty awesome for the both of us.”

After playing his 17-year-old season with the Winnipeg Blues on a high-scoring trio with Mikol Sartor and Mitchell Joss, Fischer was traded to the BCHL’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks where he played 16 games during an abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.

Has was subsequently dealt in midsummer to the BCHL’s Powell River Kings before being flipped the same week to Virden for the rights to forward Hunter Andrew.

Steinbach GM and head coach Paul Dyck saw a tight series coming between the Pistons and Caps.

“You need to look at the bigger picture,” said Dyck, noting his 2012-13 Pistons finished fifth in the overall standings before surging to a league championship. “I mean, they added three 20-year-old forwards after Christmas, they added a goalie after Christmas. They’ve gone 20-4 in their last last 24 games, right? So, our records are virtually identical in the last 24 games.”

Fischer, defenceman Logan Rands and goaltender Bailey Monteith (a deadline acquisition from the BCHL), and SJHL pickups Beau Larson and Brody Wilson have been major contributors to Virden’s late-season surge.

“It changes your depth and gives you more options and, obviously, they’re a much different team than the one we faced in December,” said Dyck.

In the league’s other semifinal, the Dauphin Kings hold a 2-0 series lead over the Winkler Flyers after 4-2 and 3-1 wins on home ice. Games 3 and 4 are slated for Wednesday and Thursday in Winkler.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14