The Swan Valley Stampeders hard nose performance on the road Tuesday January 8th, earned them a 4-3 overtime win against Virden.
The Stampeders were firing on all cylinders tonight as they took the play to the Oil Capitals early on. Leyson Coleman opened up the scoring as he picked up the puck and drove the net, snapping a shot on goal that went off of Dolton Dosch and in at 9:31. The Oil Capitals responded late in the period as Brock Schwaluk was left all alone in front, and beat Merek Pipes for his first as a Oil Capital at 18:55. The opening twenty minutes closed out with the score all tied up at 1 and the shots 16-8 in favour of Virden.
The second period started off slowly but ramped up as both teams scored twice late in the middle frame. Stampeders forward Bradly Goethals moved the Stamps ahead by one as he let a point shot go, that rang off the cross bar and in at 13:13 on the power play. Matt Osadick scored twenty two seconds later snapping home his eighteenth of the year. The Oil Capitals responded nine seconds later as Brayden Pawluk found himself all alone and beat Merek Pipes to the Oil Caps within one. Kolten Kanaski tied the game at 3 on the power play, as he turned and fired one home low blocker side at 16:50. The eventful middle frame closed out with both teams tied at 3 and the shots favoured Virden 29-24.
The scoring dried up in the third period as both Dolton Dosch and Merek Pipes closed the door, which sent both teams to overtime.
Quintin Sudom proved to be the hero tonight as he picked up a loose puck off of Josh Tripp’s stick and beat a sprawled out Dolton Dosch at 3:52 of overtime. Final shots on goal 46-32 for Virden.
With tonight’s road win in Virden, the Stampeders record now sits at 26-8-3-2 for a total of 57 points, 7 behind the Portage Terriers for first place overall in the MJHL. Swan Valley will return to home ice this upcoming weekend, with games Friday January 11th (Telus Game Night Sponsor) and Saturday January 12th (The Westwood Inn Game Night Sponsor) against the Winker Flyers. Puck drop goes at 7:30pm each night. Tickets are available at Atkinson’s Sports Excellence or at the door.