Neepawa Natives fall to Steinbach, Dauphin

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2-C-Natives Game

Photo by Eoin Devereux. Kyle McDonald (18) looks to slip up  past the Dauphin goaltender on Friday, Oct. 23 at the Yellowhead Arena.

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The offensive attack of the Steinbach Pistons was firing on all cylinders on Wednesday, Oct. 21, against the Neepawa Natives. Steinbach’s Luke Amsbaugh scored a pair of goals, while Tyler Penner notched a goal and two assists to lead the Pistons to a 6-1 victory. 

The first period was a closely contested affair, with ample scoring opportunities for both sides. The Pistons were able to take advantage first however, as Bradley Schoonbaert opened the scoring, to give Steinbach a one goal lead after 20 minutes.

Neepawa controlled the tempo of the second period, outshooting their opposition 15-8, but were unable to solve goaltender Roman Bengert. Luke Amsbaugh would double Steinbach’s lead at the 12:41 mark, with his first goal of the evening.

In the third period, the Pistons took over, lighting the lamp for four goals, including three in a two minute and three-second span. Neepawa would break the shutout bid of Bengert late in the period, as Reigan Buchanan scored his fourth goal of the year, with less than 90 seconds remaining in the game. Steinbach outshot Neepawa 17-8 in the third and 41-36 for the full 60 minutes.

With the win, the Pistons jumped into third place in the MJHL standings, with a 7-4 record. Neepawa meanwhile fell to 5-8 on the season.

The next game for the Natives was on Friday, Oct 23, at the Yellowhead Centre when they faced the Dauphin Kings. Neepawa was able to take the early lead and played well throughout the game, but were unable to hold off the consistent offensive pressure put on by Dauphin, as the Kings closed out the evening with a 4-2 win.

The newest arrival to the Neepawa Natives roster, Austin Hingtgen, opened the scoring in the first period, with a power-play marker at the 18:47 mark.

The Dauphin Kings jumped out to a quick start in the second, tying up the game just 12 seconds into the middle frame. Romano Morrison scored his third goal of the season. Neepawa appeared to get the go-ahead goal just a few minutes later, but the referee waved off the tally, suggesting that a hand pass facilitated the goal. 

Midway through the period, Dauphin took the lead, but Neepawa replied just over two minutes later at the 13:30 mark, as Justin Metcalf secured his first goal of the 2015-2016 season, to make it 2-2 after 40 minutes.

In the final period, Dauphin once again started strong, retaking the lead at 1:33 into the third. Matthew Greening would notch that goal. At 5:04, the Kings secured the victory, as Kirklan Lycar scored his 10th goal of the year. From there Dauphin cruised to the 4-2 win, their sixth victory of the season. Neepawa meanwhile, would see its record fall to 5-9 on the season, good enough for ninth place in the MJHL standings.