Jake Dale scored his first Junior A hat trick to lead the Winnipeg Blues to a 4-3 win over the Virden Oil Capitals.
Dale scored twice in the first six minutes of the game, first deflecting home a Pearce Gare point shot before forcing a shot through Eric Reid to put Winnipeg up 2-0 early.
From there, Winnipeg controlled the first, adding a goal from Josiah Vanderhooft late to move the Blues first-liner up to 20 on the year. Nathan Driver got Virden one back late to make it 3-1 after 20 minutes.
After an even second saw no goals, Virden came out hard to start the third, scoring 35 seconds in to pull back within one. The Oil Capitals kept pushing, but Jake Dale finished off the hat trick to put Winnipeg back up by two.
From there, Winnipeg locked it down, playing smart defensive hockey to finish off the win. Virden scored with the empty net to make it close, but the Blues were able to win back-to-back games for the first time since November 23.
Winnipeg next takes the ice against the Selkirk Steelers in Selkirk on Friday, January 21. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Blues fans can listen on Gametime Radio.