An opening night to remember for Neepawa Natives

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Published on Tuesday, September 29, 2015

 By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner

The MJHL regular season is off to a solid start for the Neepawa Natives, as the team has registered a pair of wins over the Dauphin Kings. Neepawa would begin the season on Friday, Sept. 25 at the Credit Union Centre in Dauphin, where they secured a 5-2 victory. 

The Natives jumped out to an early 2-0 first period lead, behind goals from Josh Blondeau and Patrick Carlin. Dauphin tied it at 2-2 after 40 minutes, but Neepawa would respond in the third with goals from Aiken Chop, Kyle McDonald as well as an empty netter from Justin Metcalf. Goaltender Troy Pierce made 44 saves on the evening to earn the Natives first win of the year. 

Both clubs hit the ice against one another the following evening, this time at the Yellowhead Centre in Neepawa. The early portion of the game saw the roles reversed, as Dauphin jumped out to a 2-0 lead, scoring late in the first and just eight seconds into the second period.

The Natives responded however, with Justin Metcalf, Brayden Atkinson and Reigan Buchanan all scoring before the end of the second, to take a 3-2 lead into the final frame. 

Kyle McDonald and Jordan Martin would add a pair of goals in the third to secure the 5-2 win. Troy Pierce once again had a spectacular night in net, making 42 saves during the game, including 20 in the first.

Natives coach Jim Fuyarchuk said the start of the home opener was not what the coaching staff had hoped to see from the players, but they were pleased to see them recover from a sluggish start and take over as the game progressed.

“The first period [during the home opener] was not characteristic of how we can play. With the type of team we are, we need to play with speed. That opening period, we were not able to use our speed to our full advantage. We couldn’t cycle the puck and we got bogged down in our defensive zone. Dauphin did a very good job of shutting down our speed, but to the players’ credit, they refocused in the second and third periods. Started moving faster out there and were better able to control the tempo of play,” said Fuyarchuk. “In the second and third, we kept it simple. Focused on keeping the shifts short, cycling the puck and ensuring that all four lines were active.”

Fuyarchuk noted that as the game progressed, the players were not overexerted and were able to keep up as the Kings pressed to tie things up. 

“There are a few things to work on, but overall it’s a solid weekend that we can build off of,” stressed Fuyarchuk.

As for the play of goaltender Troy Pirece throughout the weekend, the coach said it was a real positive.

“Pierce was outstanding. He’s a battler. Highly competitive and showed a lot of confidence out there. At times, he’s like a third defensemen out there, getting on the puck and moving it. He plays with a lot of fire,” noted Fuyarchuk.

Neepawa will find itself extremely busy over the next two weeks, as they’ll play seven games, including a road game against the defending MJHL and RBC Cup champions, the Portage Terriers; a pair during the annual MJHL Showcase at the MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg and a matchup with the OCN Blizzard on Oct. 9 in Carberry. Neepawa’s next home game at the Yellowhead Centre is Sunday, Oct. 4. vs. the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. That matchup begins at 6:30 p.m.