Neepawa Farmers win home opener
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Photo by Eoin Devereux. Neepawa’s Lance Nugent celebrates one of his goals on the evening during the Farmers home opener.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The first home game of the Tiger Hills Hockey League regular season for the Neepawa Farmers was almost perfect, as the club cruised to a 6-1 win over the Pilot Mound Pilots.
The game, held on Wednesday, Oct. 28, was the second of the season for Neepawa, who had previously dropped a 4-2 decision on the road in Hartney. The Farmers were looking to rebound from that disappointment in the friendly confines of the Yellowhead Arena.
Neepawa would get off to a quick start, scoring three goals in the opening period. Lance Nugent opened the scoring at 13:35 of the first. Just under two minutes later, Matt Lowry added to the lead for the Farmers. Rodney White would close out the opening period with another goal for Neepawa, giving the Farmers a comfortable 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.
In the second, Neepawa continued to press the attack in the Pilot Mound zone, creating many opportunities to cushion their lead. They took advantage of that early pressure at the 4:57 mark, with Lance Nugent securing his second goal of the night. Pilot Mound would create some chances late in the period, which earned them their first goal of the game. Colton Bamford spoiled the shutout bid of Farmer’s goaltender Brad Nelson, just a little over three minutes remaining in the second.
The final period would continue to be all Neepawa, as they generated two more goals to ensure a 6-1 victory. Jeremy Hodgins scored his first of the season, while Lance Nugent earned a hat trick, with a goal midway through the final frame.
With the win, Neepawa improved to 1-1 on the season. The Farmers’ next game was on Saturday, Oct. 31 at the Yellowhead Arena against Boissevain. The Farmers jumped out to a comfortable 4-0 lead, with a pair of goals from Matt Lowry and singles from Devin Epp and Brett Dreger.
As easy as it could have been for the Boissevain Border Kings to simply call it a night, the team chose to not give up. Late in the second period, that effort would pay off as the Border Kings scored their first goal of the evening. They’d follow up with an additional three in the final frame to send the game into overtime.
The storybook comeback would not be however, as Neepawa’s Riley Kolesar netted the game winner, at the 3:48 mark of overtime.
With the weekend victory, Neepawa has improved its record to 2-1 on the season. The Farmers next game will be on the road against Cartwright on Friday, Nov. 6. As for the next home game at the Yellowhead Centre, it will be on Saturday, Nov. 21 versus the Pilot Mound Pilots.
