Natives keep playoff hopes alive with win over Wayway
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- Published on Thursday, February 5, 2015
Shawn Pachet celebrates a second period goal for Neepawa.
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
Steven Phillips scored a pair of goals to help power the Neepawa Natives to a 4-1 win over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines at the Yellowhead Arena, on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
The Natives took an early lead in the first period as Phillips scored on a power play just 1:18 into the game. The Wolverines would counter late in the first to tie the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes.
In the second, Neepawa would take control early, notching a pair of goals. Drake Lindsay scored his 23rd goal of the season just over four minutes into the period. Three minutes later, Shawn Pachet secured his ninth goal of the season and fourth with Neepawa, since his trade from Winkler in December.
Waywayseecappo poured on the pressure in the third, but could not light the lamp. There were several opportunities, including a shot that rang off the post behind Alex Henry but stayed out of the net. Phillips would score an empty net goal with just two seconds remaining in regulation to make the final 4-1. Drake Lindsay and Shawn Pachet would each end the evening with a goal and two assists, while defence men Jaxson Elmes added a pair of assists.
After, the game, Neepawa assistant coach Dustin Howden said that jumping off to such a quick start helped the players in building up some confidence on the bench.
“It’s nice to get the early lead. That was so important for us and it was a power play goal as well. That’s even better for us,” said Howden. “It was a good feeling after the first, but we knew that Wayway would play a disciplined game and we had to compete for the next 40 minutes.”
With the win, Neepawa improves to 13-35-2 on the season, with 28 points accumulated. The Natives are still 10 points back of OCN with 10 games remaining. The next game for Neepawa is Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Yellowhead Arena, against the Winkler Flyers.
Drake Lindsay split the Wayway defence
