Yellowhead splits weekend games
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- Published on Thursday, November 12, 2015
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The Yellowhead Chiefs faced a pair of challenges over the weekend in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League. Yellowhead overcame that first challenge with a 6-3 win over the Central Plains Capitals.
It was a dominant performance early on for the Chiefs, as they scored five goals in the first period. Noah Geekie secured a pair of goals and added one helper. Other scorers include Dayton Heino, Ryan Heino and Josh Belcher. Mackenzie Belinksi also aided in the effort with three assists.
Tucker Scantlebury tallied the sixth goal of the game for the Chiefs in the second period. In the third, Central Plains would come back with three goals of its own, but was unable to make it all the way back from the six goal deficit.
On Sunday, Nov. 8, the Chiefs faced a much tougher challenge as they squared off against the top team in the league, the undefeated Eastman Selects. The game started off quickly, with both teams generating many scoring chances early. Kolten Kanaski opened the scoring for the Selects at 9:58 of the opening period, on a great individual effort, intercepting a Yellowhead pass and sliding a backhand shot past Chiefs netminder, Reece Jones to make it 1-0. Yellowhead continued to press however and at 19:37, a defensive gaff in front of the Selects net resulted with the puck on the stick of Chief’s top scorer, Tucker Scantlebury, who beat Eastman goalie Brendan Benoit with a quick shot to tie things up at 1-1.
That’s how it stayed for the remainder of the game, despite numerous scoring opportunities at both ends of the ice. But just when it looked like it would head into overtime, Eastman was able to pin the Chiefs in the Yellowhead zone for the last minute of the game. Then, with just six-seconds left, Selects forward Will Middleton took a pass from Curtis Brule and fired a quick shot at the net. Jones made the initial save, but a rebound landed right in front of defensemen Curtis Binda, who chipped it up and over the sprawling Chiefs goalie for the dramatic 2-1 win.
After those two games, Yellowhead’s record stands at 8-3. That’s good enough for fourth place in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League standings. The next game for the Chiefs is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14, in Shoal Lake against Kenora. Yellowhead will then hit the road the following day to Portage la Prairie versus the Central Plains Capitals.
