Neepawa hits sour note in Winnipeg

Details

Published on Thursday, September 29, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

For the second straight game, a strong final period push was not enough for the Neepawa Natives to overcome some of their massive mid-game struggles. Three goals in the third was simply too little, too late for Neepawa on Wednesday, Sept. 28, as the club fell to the Winnipeg Blues 8-5.

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 played out in Neepawa’s previous 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.

Winnipeg 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), 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. 

The Natives will have to put this loss behind them quickly as they return to the ice on Friday, Sept. 30, when the Selkirk Steelers visit the Yellowhead Centre (7:30 pm start time)