Hunter Cloutier notched a hat-trick as the Virden Oil Capitals defeated the Steinbach Pistons 4-1 Saturday night in Virden.
However, the game will be remembered however from a full line brawl that took place around the six-minute mark of the third period.
Ethan Peterson didn’t finish the game but would pick up the win as he made 32 saves in the win. Danton Belluk stopped 29 of 33 Oil Caps shots and would be saddled with the loss.
Cloutier would open the scoring on the power play 4:06 into the game with a left wing wrister to make it 1-0. But Ty Naaykens would respond for Steinbach from the slot to tie the game at 1. Dylan Cassie and Tanner Mole had the assists on Naaykens’ 13th of the season.
Steinbach outshot Virden 13-7 in the first period, but the second period is where things took a turn for the worse for the Pistons. The Oil Capitals outshot them 20-8 in the second period and scored three times in the frame.
Josh Belcher gave the home side the lead as he pounced on a rebound and beat Belluk 2:12 into the second period. Then Cloutier completed his hat-trick in the frame by scoring twice on the power play; one from the right wing at the 9:30 mark and the other on a left wing one-timer at the 12:04 mark.
The Pistons came into the third period steaming and things got out of hand quickly, resulting in a free-for-all out on the ice. Captain Declan Graham and Bryce Young were tossed from the Pistons, while three Oil Caps were also shown the gate in the process.
While the referees were conferring about the situation, Peterson and Belluk proceeded to dropped their gloves at centre ice for a quick tilt. Both were shown the gate as Nik Anderson relieved Belluk in the Pistons net, while Kyle Kozma replaced Peterson for Virden.
The game went without incident as Virden would skate away with a 4-1 win.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Steinbach went 0 for 5 on the man advantage, while Virden carved up the Pistons penalty kill and finished 3 for 4 on the night.
UP NEXT: The Pistons will look to put this one behind them quickly with a game tomorrow night in Selkirk. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm; catch the game live on HockeyTV or on the radio at MIX 96.7 FM.