The Steinbach Pistons winning streak came to an end in dramatic fashion on Friday night when they tied the game late but eventually fell in a shootout to the Virden Oil Capitals 3-2 at the TG Smith.

In the opening period, the Pistons and Oil Caps were tangled up in a tight checking, hard played period. Both teams had a couple chances, Virden's coming mostly on the power play but it remained scoreless heading into the second period.

Shots in the opening period were 9-4 Virden. The lowest shots per period total for Steinbach this season.

Things picked up in the second as Steinbach started to find their legs and eventually drew a penalty.

Steinbach took advantage of a power play and Drew Worrad scored his 15th of the year to make it 1-0. "I was just trying to throw it out in front and it hit off something and went in," Worrad said after the game. "I've been in a bit of a slump, so it was nice to get that one." Darby Gula had the lone assist on the goal.

 

Another man advantage for the Pistons gave them a chance to get a two-goal lead but after a successful kill, the Oil Caps gained momentum and used it to tie the game after a stretch pass found Landyn Cochrane all alone for a breakaway goal to tie the game 1-1.

It was another tight checking, hard-fought, contested period in the third until Cochrane again found the back of the net to make it 2-1 Virden with just over five minutes to go in the game.

Steinbach really picked things up and was able to get a couple chances to tie the game before drawing a couple of penalties. 

The Pistons would eventually end up with a 6 on 3 man advantage as two Oil Capitals took penalties and they pulled the goalie for the extra attacker.

With just 12 seconds left, Worrad tipped a shot in front and it got behind the Virden goalie and Will Koop hammered it home into the open net to tie the game 2-2. For Koop, that was goal 17 on the year. Worrad and Riese Gaber had the assists.

In overtime, both teams traded chances as Steinbach looked to end it a few times but were turned away by strong goaltending.

In the shootout, McKitrick and Worrad scored early but Virden answered back with two quick goals themselves. After Steinbach failed to take the lead in the breakaway challenge, the Oil Capitals Kirklan Lycar scored to give Virden the win.

Matthew Thiessen was sensational making 30 saves on the night, including several just to give his team a chance to find their legs and salvage a point out this game.

The power play finished 2-5 while the penalty kill was a perfect 5-5 against the top-ranked power play in the league with Virden.

Coaches Notes

Assistant coach Joey Moggach felt that Virden played this one like a playoff game and came away with a couple positives despite the loss. "We've been learning lots about our team this season. When you get on a stretch, winning 10 games in a row and you're looking to continue it, teams will put a bullseye on your chest. I thought they played really well and it's not like we didn't play bad but they played well. They've been close games all year and it was another one tonight."

Coaching is about making adjustments and Moggach felt his team responded well to what Virden brought. "It was tight checking, we needed to get our feet moving more and sometimes it's easier said than done. We were trying to tap into some energy that maybe wasn't there. We didn't feel we worked as hard as we probably could have but with that being said, we're not displeased with the effort, it just needs to be more consistent."

With a game coming up on Sunday, the players talked about wanting to bring a complete compete effort, the coach echoes that. "Overall compete is bang on. When we're working, when we're skating, we're tough to play against. We have so many offensive weapons that when they're moving their feet, they're tough to play against. Today, we didn't have that speed at times or energy to win those battles so competing is right. We need to have that Sunday."

Up Next

The Pistons have Saturday night off before entertaining the Neepawa Natives with puck drop at 7:00 pm