Oil Capitals advance to MJHL final

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This article was published 19/04/2023 (1083 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — For the second time in franchise history, the Virden Oil Capitals are playing for the Turnbull Cup.

Joey Bielik scored on the power play with 6:24 to go on in the second overtime period to give the Oil Capitals a 3-2 win over the Portage Terriers in Game 7 of their Manitoba Junior Hockey League semifinal at Stride Place on Wednesday night.

“It’s definitely the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” Bielik said.

“To do it in a game like this, nothing else comes even close. It’s something I’ll remember forever.”

The Oil Capitals will take on the Steinbach Pistons in the league final, which is expected to start this weekend.

It is a rematch of the 2018 championship series and last year’s semifinal, both of which the Pistons won in six games.

The winner of the final heads to the Centennial Cup in Portage la Prairie from May 11 to 21. The Terriers are in as hosts.

Portage dominated the first period as they outshot Virden by a 12-4 margin, but they couldn’t solve Oil Capitals netminder Owen LaRocque.

The Wawanesa product’s two best saves of the frame came in the final five minutes as he stymied Noah Wagner’s tight one-timer attempt and turned aside Matt Wisener’s breakaway opportunity.

After a slow start to the second period, the Terriers picked up the pressure but still couldn’t solve LaRocque, who made two outrageous stops on Ryan Botterill and Wagner in a 20-second span.

Portage was finally rewarded for its efforts at the 18:45 mark of the middle frame while on the penalty kill. Bryden Kiesman made a rush up the ice and made a slick feed over to Brenden Holba, who made no mistakes in putting away his fifth goal of the playoffs.

The Oil Capitals responded with 12:59 to go in the third period as Nolan Chastko buried a rebound past Bailey Monteith, who made the initial save on a shot from Ty Plaisier.

The game wasn’t tied for long, however, as the Terriers scored a couple of minutes later on the power play. Portage caught LaRocque out of position while battling in front of the net but their initial shots were blocked by Plaisier at the goal line. Mike Stubbs would eventually bang the puck home to put the hosts in front 2-1.

Chastko struck again just as the power play expired with a wicked backhander from the slot to tie things up at two.

The Terriers had the best chances to win the game in the first overtime. A shot from Kiesman ended up sitting in front of the net but was cleared out of danger before anyone could get to it, while Slade Stanick nearly banged the puck off of LaRocque and into the net from a bad angle.

The double-overtime frame was a wild one.

The near-capacity crowd thought Wiesner had won the game on a wrap-around play in the first five minutes and the Oil Capitals were inches away from settling things midway through the period but couldn’t beat Monteith on a goal-mouth scramble.

The Oil Capitals got a power-play opportunity with 8:03 left on the clock when Tayem Gislason was called for a hold on Dean Gorchynski.

Bielik hit the post while trying to convert a feed from Trevor Hunt on the man advantage but made up for it seconds later as he put home a rebound from a Hunt point shot.

Chastko led the way for the Oil Capitals with his two-goal performance, while LaRocque made 43 saves.

Monteith, who played for Virden last season, turned aside 29 shots for the Terriers.

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