The Swan Valley Stampeders fell 4-3 on home ice to the Virden Oil Capitals Saturday night at the Centennial Arena.
Prior to puck drop, the Swan Valley Stampeders and the Virden Oil Capitals took part in a Remembrance Day Opening Ceremony that featured Retired Naval Officer Doug Henchcliffe and RCMP Constable Colt Lanteigne. Both teams took part in moment of silence, musical rendition and a ceremonial puck drop.
Swan Valley’s offence was led by Jackson Betcher and Noah Fladager who each picked up a goal and an assist, Carter Cockburn also added a goal while Dylan Black stopped 32/36 shots he faced in the loss.
The inconsistent play and parade to the penalty box by the Stampeders ultimately led to the Oil Capitals claiming a victory and once again creating another tie for third place overall in the West Division Standings.
We are going to skip over the first period as both teams played to a 0-0 tie after 20 minutes of play.
Braden Fischer opened the scoring 48 seconds into the middle frame, collecting his 11th of the year on the power play. Betcher responded for the Stampeders 15 minutes later sending both teams to the dressing room tied 1-1.
Fladager gave the Stampeders their first lead of the game, scoring 4:20 into the final frame, collecting his sixth of the year on the power play. Virden responded by scoring three straight goals – Logan Rands (8:51), Tyler Thoendel (13:38), and Carson Buydens (15:13) to give the Oil Capitals a 4-2 lead. Cockburn added a power play goal at 17:23 but it wasn’t enough as the Oil Capitals held on for a 4-3 win.
Final shots on goal
Virden – 36
Swan Valley – 29
With tonight’s loss, the Stampeders now sit with a record of 7-8-0-1 and move into a tie for third place overall in the West Division.
The next action for the Stampeders will be Friday Nov 12 in Dauphin to face the Kings, puck drop is set for 7:30pm.