The Winkler Flyers will host the Virden Oil Capitals in Game One of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Quarter Final tonight (7:30pm), as the club begins the quest for their fourth Turnbull Cup.
The Flyers have home ice advantage in this series after finishing the regular season in second place. However, the seventh place Oil Capitals took three of the six games against Winkler this year with the road team winning four of the six games.
Health will be a big factor for the Flyers in these playoffs as the club looks to get back to full strength. Winkler has lost well over one hundred man games to injury this season, most of that in the final month and a half of the season.
Strong starts were key for Winkler this season as the Flyers scored first in 40 of their 60 games. In those games, Winkler went 36-2-2. The Flyers also had a record of 28-0-2 when they led after 20 minutes and 36-2-2 when they took a lead into the third period.
The Flyers were outshot this season in just 10 of their 60 games and outscored their opponent 150-90 in the first two periods. Winkler has had good success this season in close games going 11-2-3 in games decided by a single goal.
Here is a breakdown of the season series and all the information you need to know heading into the MJHL postseason. The opening round of the playoffs is presented by the Winkler Coop. The Coop will be giving away 15 Free Car Washes per game. On the back of your game ticket, you can fill in your name and phone number and place it in the draw box on the front table of the arena lobby. If the Flyers win the series, the Winkler Coop will give away a free Broil King BBQ from the names entered in the draw. Advance tickets are available anytime at the Winkler Coop Gas Bar.
WINKLER (2ND) (41-16-3=77PTS) at home (23-6-1) on road (18-10-2)
VIRDEN (7TH) (26-26-8=51PTS) at home (13-12-5) on road (13-14-3)
– Winkler was 3-3 against Virden this season, outscoring the Oil Caps 17-13 in their six game season series.
– Both teams won two of their three games against eachother on the road.
– Virden has scored 30% of all their goals this season on the power-play (51 of 167), they have also allowed the most short-handed goals in the MJHL (9).
– These two teams met on Saturday night in their regular season finale with Virden winning the game 5-3.
– The Flyers and Oil Caps played eachother in the 2014-15 MJHL Quarterfinals, where Virden won the series 4-2.
SPECIAL TEAMS
FLYERS – PP 6TH (17.06%)
PK 3RD (83.88%)
VIRDEN – PP 3RD (19.77%)
PK 4TH (83.85%)
GAME ONE (Sep 27 in Winkler) OIL CAPS 3 FLYERS 2 / SHOTS 38-34 OIL CAPS / PP 1-5 PK 2-3
Winkler got off on the wrong foot allowing Ben Dalke to open the scoring before the game was 5 minutes old. The Oil Caps would score again midway through the 2nd before Matt Christian cut Virden’s lead to 2-1 with four minutes left in the period. Dalke then scored his 2nd of the game on the PP with 3:45 left in the game to restore Virden’s 2 goal lead. Jeff Michiels scored a PP goal for WInkler with 30 seconds left but the Flyers comeback would fall just short losing their 1st game of the year.
GOALIES: WINKLER – CONNOR SLIPP / VIRDEN – RILEY McVEIGH
GAME TWO (Oct 9 in Virden) OIL CAPS 3 FLYERS 0 / SHOTS 40-36 FLYERS / PP 0-5 PK 5-6
After a scoreless 1st period, Mack Hardy scored on the PP to give the Oil Caps a 1-0 lead after 2 periods. Sam Schulz double Virden’s lead to 2-0 early in the 3rd and Dylan Cusmano added an empty net goal with 2 seconds left to seal the Oil Caps 3-0 win. Marc Audet was the star of the show for Virden with a 40 save shutout.
GOALIES: WINKLER – COLE WEAVER / VIRDEN – MARC AUDET
GAME THREE (Nov 20 in Winkler) FLYERS 4 OIL CAPS 0 / SHOTS 30-26 FLYERS / PP 0-7 PK 4-4
With all the players parents and billets in attendance for Parent Billet Weekend, the Flyers snuffed out the Oil Caps right from the start. Garrett Kuklica opened the scoring just 3:23 into the game and Jacob Lacasse made it 2-0 just 4 minutes later. Nico Labossiere score in the 2nd to give the Flyers a three goal lead and Braden Cullum made it 4-0 for the Flyers early in the third. That would be all the offense Cole Weaver would need as he would earn his second straight shutout.
GOALIES: WINKLER – COLE WEAVER / VIRDEN – MARC AUDET
GAME FOUR (Dec 4 in Virden) FLYERS 2 OIL CAPS 1 / SHOTS 44-19 FLYERS / PP 0-2 PK 3-3
Jacob Lacasse gave Winkler a 1-0 lead in the first period as the Flyers outshot the Oil Caps 16-5 in the opening 20 minutes. Virden tied the game 1-1 with 8 minutes left in the 2nd before Braden Billaney put Winkler back in front 2-1 with 3 and a half to play before the intermission. Cole Weaver and the Flyers shut it down in the third and the Flyers picked up their third win in a 3 game weekend road trip.
GOALIES: WINKLER – COLE WEAVER / VIRDEN – MARC AUDET
GAME FIVE (Feb 14 in Virden) FLYERS 6 OIL CAPS 1 / SHOTS 54-47 OIL CAPITALS / PP 1-5 PK 4-4
Good opening period by the Flyers as Mitch Dyck and Coltyn Bates both scored in the first to give Winkler a 2-0 lead. Virden cut Winkler’s lead to 2-1 early in the second but Troy Martyniuk would stand tall in the middle frame, stopping 21 of the 22 shots he faced. The Flyers tacked on two more before intermission when Brett Oppermann and Ian Mackey (SH) scored to make the score 4-1 Winkler after 40 minutes. Mackey scored again in the third and Gino Lucia also scored (PP) in the final period to make the final 6-1 for the Flyers.
GOALIES: WINKLER – TROY MARTYNIUK / VIRDEN – MARC AUDET
GAME SIX (Mar 4 in Winkler) OIL CAPS 5 FLYERS 3 / SHOTS 36-29 FLYERS / PP 1-7 PK 4-5
After Virden took a 1-0 lead just before the nine minute mark of the first, Brody Moffatt scored his second of the year to tie the game 1-1. The Oil Caps restored their one goal lead before intermission, and despite outshooting Virden 13-7 through 20 minutes, Winkler trailed 2-1 heading into the third. The Oil Caps increased their lead to 3-1 with a PP goal early in the second but Matt Christian and Ian Mackey both replied within minutes and the game was tied 3-3 after 40 minutes. However, Virden would score twice more in the third and would win the regular season final 5-3.
GOALIES: WINKLER – COLE WEAVER / VIRDEN – RILEY McVEIGH
BEST OF SEVEN SERIES SCHEDULE
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VIRDEN OIL CAPITALS vs WINKLER FLYERS |
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Mar 10 |
Virden Oil Capitals |
at |
Winkler Flyers |
7:30 pm |
|
Mar 12 |
Winkler Flyers |
at |
Virden Oil Capitals |
7:00 pm |
|
Mar 14 |
Virden Oil Capitals |
at |
Winkler Flyers |
7:30 pm |
|
Mar 16 |
Winkler Flyers |
at |
Virden Oil Capitals |
7:30 pm |
|
Mar 17 |
Virden Oil Capitals |
at |
Winkler Flyers (if necess) |
7:30 pm |
|
Mar 19 |
Winkler Flyers |
at |
Virden Oil Capitals (if necess) |
7:00 pm |
|
Mar 21 |
Virden Oil Capitals |
at |
Winkler Flyers (if necess) |
7:30 pm |
All playoff tickets will be available at the Winkler Coop Gas Bar anytime, or at the Arena prior to the game.
TICKET PRICES:
ADULT (19+) – $12
STUDENTS (13-18) – $8
CHILD (6-12) – $5
CHILDREN UNDER 5 – FREE