The Waywayseecappo Wolverines will look to end a two-game skid on Friday night when the club travels south to Virden to square off with the Oil Capitals.
For how meaningful Thursday nights contest against the Swan Valley Stampeders was, the Wolverine’s overall effort didn’t match the magnitude of the game as the Stamps’ skated away with a 4-1 win.
It wasn’t for a lack of opportunity as the Wolverines had nine chances on the man-advantage and were successful on one of their nine chances.
Special teams ended up as the big difference with Swan Valley scoring twice on the powerplay, once shorthanded and added a penalty shot goal.
Oil Capitals Outlook
While the Wolverines are looking to end a two-game skid, the Oil Capitals enter the action on Friday night looking to extend their win streak to four.
Most recently, Virden is coming off of an impressive 5-1 win over the league-leading Steinbach Pistons on Thursday night and are 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games with the only loss coming from the Wolverines.
Led by 1999-born Forward Kolten Kanaski, the Oil Capitals have plenty of offensive power upfront between Hunter Cloutier and Tanner Andrew sitting in the top five in league scoring.
The Wolverines will need to stay out of the box on Friday night with the Oil Capitals boasting one of the leagues’ best powerplay units at 25%.
Goaltender, Kyle Kozma has come into the Oil Capitals crease and instantly solidified their back end. Kozma is 5-0-0-0 and has posted a 2.11 goals-against average & .925 save percentage.
News and Notes
As for the Wolverines and Oil Capitals, the two western Manitoba teams will meet for just the third time so far this season. In the previous two meetings, it was the Wolverines who were successful in taking a 5-2 win on the road and a 3-2 win at home earlier this month.
After a win for the Oil Capitals on Thursday and a loss for the Wolverines, Friday nights game couldn’t have much more on the line.
The Wolverines sit just two points ahead of the Oil Capitals, holding one game in hand on their opponent. Five points separate 1-7 in the league standings before Friday nights slate of games.
Where to Watch
Watch tonight’s game between the Wolverines and Oil Capitals live on HockeyTV.com or follow the Wolverines on Twitter @mjhlWolverines for live game updates.