Yellowhead Chiefs remain dominant
- Details
- Published on Friday, January 27, 2017
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
A pair of wins by the Yellowhead Chiefs have kept the team within striking distance of top spot in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League standings. The team beat the Kenora Thistles 10-0 on Friday, Jan. 20. The boys followed that up with a 6-2 decision over the Interlake Lightning. Those wins improved Yellowhead’s regular season record to an impressive 22-4-1-7, good enough for 52 points on the year. That puts them in second place, five points behind the league leaders, the Winnipeg Wild.
In the first game, the Chiefs jumped out to an early advantage, outshooting Kenora 14-4 in the first and scoring five times. Noah Geekie put away a pair in the opening frame, with Jaxon Heeney, Jacob Tibbatts and Aiden Woodley notching singles.
In the second, Neepawa’s Braden Gillies scored early. That would be his first of two goals on the night. Cole Muir of Vista followed up with another two in quick succession to make it an 8-0 lead heading into the third period. In the final frame, Benoit Mowbray added one early and Gillies secured the final goal of the game, with just under five minutes remaining, to make it a 10-0 final score. Yellowhead goaltender Reese Jones picked up the win and the shutout on a 14 save effort.
The next night, Yellowhead had to work a little bit harder for the win, but still came away with the 6-2 decision over Interlake. This contest remained very close for the first 40 minutes of play, as the Chiefs held on to a narrow 2-1 lead, with Josh Belcher of Rapid City and Vista’s Mackenzie Belinski scoring.
In the third, Yellowhead was able to open things up and secure the victory. Ryan Heino put away a pair, while Jaxon Heeney and Braden Gillies secured singles for the win.
Mixed results for Bantams
The Yellowhead Bantam Chiefs split their pair of weekend games, falling to Brandon 3-2 in overtime, but bouncing back to upend Central Plains 10-2. Owen Murray and Colby Joseph scored for the Chiefs. The next night, Joseph added a four point effort (two goals - two assists) to help steer the Chiefs to victory. Jake Poole of McAuley also had a massive night with five points (2G -3A).
Female Chiefs fall to Westman
A two goal night from Tatum Amy of Birtle was not enough on Wednesday, Jan. 18, as the Chiefs fell 6-3 to the Westman Wildcats. Angusville’s McKiya Mazur added the other for Yellowhead, in the defeat. The Chiefs are in fourth place in the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League standings with a 16-8-1 record. That puts them just four points behind the first place Pembina Valley Hawks (17-4-3).
Chiefs pair commit to college
A pair of Yellowhead Female Midget Chiefs have committed to schools in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference. Come the fall, forward Cassidy Lyttle will attend the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, (NAIT) while Taeya Nicol has committed to Olds College.
Lyttle graduates from Birtle Collegiate this spring and will be studying Business Administration at NAIT. She is currently is in her third season with the Chiefs and has played in 162 games, scoring 28 goals, adding 25 assists for 53 points. An assistant captain for the Chiefs this season, Lyttle was selected to Team Manitoba the U-18 Nationals this fall. She has been a key defensive forward for the Chiefs and contributes timely offence
Nicol meanwhile, is completing her second year with the Chiefs and has played both forward and defence in her midget AAA career. After playing her first midget season with the Norman Wild where she played 43 games and scored two goals and added three assists, she has suited up for 92 games as a Chief, scoring five times and assisting on 10 others. A physical player, Nicol has 76 penalty minutes in 135 games in the MFMHL. The Gilbert Plains native will graduate from Gilbert Plains Collegiate and plans to enter the Sports Management program at Olds College. The Yellowhead Chiefs wish to congratulations both players.
