A12 NEEPAWA BANNER
Neepawa Banner Sports
OCTOBER 7, 2016
Neepawa dealing with early season woes By Eoin Devereux The Neepawa Banner The early portion of the MJHL season continues to be a case of so close, yet so far, for the Neepawa Natives, when it comes to accumulating victories. The team dropped to 0-4 on the regular season, after a 4-3 loss to the Selkirk Steelers on Friday Sept. 30. This contest, much like the others, has been a case of the players putting in a good enough effort to take the win, but just not getting the little bits of luck needed at the right time, to sway things in their favour. Selkirk was able to jump out to the lead early, by taking advantage of a a power-play opportunity about a minute after the opening face-off. Dallas Starodub notched the goal at 1:10. Before the end of the first, the Steelers added to their lead, as Taylor Fisher secured an unassisted marker. Going into the second period, a sense of urgency hit the Natives bench and they executed on it quickly, as Dane Derewianchuk scored just 10 seconds into the middle frame. Neepawa’s newest arrival, 18-year-old forward Zach Johnson garnered the assist. Then at 13:11, Justin Metcalf continued his strong early season offensive effort, by securing his fifth goal and eighth point of the regular season, to tie things up at 2-2. A Selkirk penalty with just over five minutes left in the period provided Neepawa a perfect opportunity to keep the tide of momentum in their favour and take the lead. But instead, a blueline misplay with the puck ended up handing the Steelers a free chance on goaltender Jeremy Link. Dallas Starodub took advantage, scoring his second of the night. Less than two minutes later, another Neepawa miscue with the puck created a Selkirk goal, allowing the visitors to secure a 4-2 lead. Unwilling to surrender, Ste. Rose product Brad Marshall tallied his first goal of the season, to cut the Selkirk lead to a lone goal, with 20 minutes left to play in regulation. Unfortunately for Neepawa, the team was unable to instigate any prolonged offensive pressure in the final frame, and ultimately fell to the Steelers 4-3. After the game, head coach Dustin Howden expressed disappointment with the end result. “In the dressing room, [the players] do not feel as though this is a 0-4 hockey team, but at the same time, there is a lot of second guesses going on in there, and maybe there should be,” stated Howden. “Selkirk is proving very early in the season, that it’s a team to reckon with. If we want to compete through the remainder of the season, these are the types of challenges the guys need to step up to. They did tonight to a degree, but the execution needs to be a part of that effort as well. We had opportunities and couldn’t execute and we gave
PHOTO BY EOIN DEVEREUX
Jordan Martin (27) of the Neepawa Natives and Brady Castellano (22) of the Selkirk Steelers, advance on the loose puck during a game in Friday, Sept. 30 at the Yellowhead Centre. them opportunities that they took advantage of. Those types of plays can’t happen at this level and then expect to be on the positive end of the final results.” Earlier in the week, Neepawa hit another sour note, this time against the Blues, as the club fell to Winnipeg 8-5 on Sept. 28. The Blues accumulated seven goals early (four in the first period – three in the second) and were able to hold on for the victory. A similar story had played out in Neepawa’s previous road game in Winkler, as the Flyer solidified a comfortable lead early, before the Natives roared back with three goals in the final 20 minutes of a 6-4 defeat. In the Winnipeg showdown, Blues forward Joel MacGillivray opened the scoring early in the game for the home side, however, Neepawa bounced back with a pair of power-play goals from Ashton Anderson and Nolan Richards respectively. But before the end of the first period, the Blues notched three goals of their own to secure a 4-2 score after 20 minutes. The second period fell to pieces for the visitors, as Neepawa found itself outshot (22-4) and outscored (3-0),
Hockey Manitoba announces roster By Eoin Devereux The Neepawa Banner Hockey Manitoba has unveiled its under-18 girls and under-16 boys team rosters for the 2016 national championships. After a seven month selection process, the rosters for both those squads were officially trimmed down to the final 20 players on Tuesday, Oct. 4. In a media release fromHockey Manitoba, it was noted that the U-16 boys roster will be made up of two goaltenders, six defensemen and 12 forwards. The final roster that will be representing the province includes 2016 WHL Bantam Draft first and
second round picks; Trent Miner (20th pick, Vancouver Giants), Cole Muir (Yellowhead Chiefs forward - 33rd selection, Regina Pats), Eric Fawkes (40th, Seattle Thunderbirds) and Ben McCartney (43rd, Brandon Wheat Kings). Along with Muir, two other members of the Yellowhead Chiefs have been selected to represent Team Manitoba. Those players are defensemen Park Malchuk and Chad Nychuk, from Birtle
and Rossburn respectively. The under-16 Team will compete at the 2016 Western Canada U-16 Challenge Cup, which is scheduled from Oct. 19-23 in Calgary, AB. Meanwhile, t h e girl’s U - 1 8 roster will include Neepawa’s Abby Krzyzaniak, who is a member of the Edge School, located near Calgary. As well, Yellowhead Chiefs team members Tatum Amy of Birtle and
Cassidy Little of Foxwarren will be a part of the roster. Team Manitoba will participate in the U-18 National Championships, which are scheduled from Nov. 9-13, in Regina, Saskatchewan.
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by an aggressive Winnipeg roster. The Natives bounced back in the final period however, as Justin Metcalf notched a pair and Nathan Hillis added a single. The final stats would see a pair of Blues get hat tricks, as Dexter Kuczek ended the evening with a total of five points (3 goals - 2 assists), while Dallas Tulik was close behind with four points (3-1). Adam Derochie earned the victory between the pipes for Winnipeg with 23 saves, while Tyler Gutenberg and Jeremy Link faced a combined 49 shots in the Neepawa net, stopping 41. Things do not get any easier for Neepawa, as the club is currently dealing with four games, three of which are on the road, over a five day span. The first two are versus Dauphin and Virden, Wednesday, Oct. 5 and Thursday, Oct. 6. (Those game results will be official after the Banner publication deadline). Then on Saturday, Oct. 8, the Natives face the CJHL’s top ranked team, the Steinbach Pistons. Finally, Neepawa returns home to play the Waywayseecappo Wolverines at the Yellowhead Centre on Sunday, Oct 9. Game time for that contest is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
GLADSTONE GOLF CLUB 2016 RAFFLE WINNERS
The Gladstone Golf Club would like to thank everyone who purchased a ticket in our 2016 Raffle (Licence #LGA-2357-RF). The money was used for debt repayment. The winners of the draws were. May 28, 2016 - Brian Jones, Gladstone, MB. ; Mike Desrosiers, Macgregor; Colleen Kerr, Gladstone; Chris Doell, St. Francois-Xavier; Lynn Watts, Brandon; Gordon Cogar, Gladstone; Anthony Stevens, Gladstone; Barry Garber, Gladstone; Barry Garber, Gladstone; Adam Waldner, Gladstone June 25, 2016 - Seaver Henderson,Cornwall, ON.; Mark Riley, Gladstone; Justin Reid, Manitou; Sam Carson, Portage la Prairie; Vivian Stewart, Gladstone; Glenn & Leanne Crammond, Neepawa; Helen Green, Calgary, AB.; Frank Porada, Gladstone; Michelle MacDonald, Calgary, AB.; Louise Shelestynski, Gladstone July 30, 2016 - Shelly Bohn,Winnipeg; Sharon Vercaigne, Gladstone; Doreen Small, Gladstone; Stephen Hayward, Winnipeg; Audrey & Earl Clayton, Gladstone; Judy Rossnagel, Glenella; Les Foxon, Gladstone; Doug Blyth, Portage la Prairie; Les Foxon, Gladstone; Eric Schlamb, Gladstone August 27, 2016 - Don Collin, Arden; Reece MacCallum, Winnipeg; Michael Vercaigne, Gladstone; Leslie Boden, Gladstone; Ewrin Kramer, Glenella; Elisha Oswald, Waldersee; Allison Trimble, Gladstone; Lee Watson, Gladstone; Don Poschenrieder, Westbourne; Gordon Evenson, McCreary September 24, 2016 - Colin Gowan, Gladstone; Ken Holmes, Gladstone; Joyce Rempel, Plumas; Michael Vercaigne, Gladstone; Lee Watson, Gladstone; Laura Delorme, Winnipeg; Darline Meloney, Gladstone; Gord Hunt, Portage la Prairie; Larry Fischer, Plumas; Debbie Dueck, Winnipeg