This season, the Winkler Flyers and the Manitoba Liquor & Lottiers "IMPACT" program have teamed up to recognize an outstanding member of the Winkler Flyers Hockey Club by naming the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries "IMPACT" Player of the Month. During the month of November, Cam Whyte led all Flyers in scoring with five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 10 games played. He has already surpassed his career high of 21 points which he recorded last season. Manitoba Liquor Lotteries "Impact" Ambassador, Reid Curruthers presented Whyte with the award. Learn more about the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries IMPACT program Click Here.

During the 2014-2015 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season, the Winkler Flyers and Kroeker Farms have teamed up to help fight hunger in Southern Manitoba. For every goal the Flyers score throughout the season, Kroeker Farms will donate 100 lbs of produce to various charities and food banks in the area. In 2013-2014, Kroeker Farms donated nearly 18,000lbs of food to local charities, and with another successful offensive year, we can take a bite out of hunger. Follow along on the "Kroeker Farms – Goal Tracker" on www.winklerflyers.com and on the board inside the Winkler Recreation Complex, you can see how many goals the Flyers have scored and how much food is going to those who need it. Thank you Kroeker Farms for your support.

Click on the following links to view the photo galleries of Winkler Flyers Photographers Ryan Sawatzky and Merle Peters.   Ryan Sawatzky   Merle Peters

The Flyers added leadership, experience and heart with their final move at the trading deadline, picking up forward Ryne Keller (94) from the Battlefords North Stars (SJHL). The pride of Wilke, Saskatchewan served the past two seasons as the North Stars Captain and comes to Winkler will 200 games of Junior Hockey experience. With the acquisition of Keller, the Flyers now have a full roster of 23 players including nine 20 year olds, eight 19 year olds, four 18 year olds, two 17 year olds. Keller is a 5’9”, 170 lbs forward who can play all three forward positions. In 36 games played this season in the Battlefords, Keller had 15 points (3 goals – 12 assists) and 16 penalty minutes. With exactly 200 games of Junior hockey experience, the Wilke, Saskatchewan native has 76 (25 goals – 51 assists) and 107 penalty minutes. He also Captained the North Stars for the past two seasons. “Ryne is a heart and soul kid and is very excited to come here” says Flyers Head Coach and General Manager Ken Pearson. “His leadership and experience will be valuable assets to our group moving forward into playoffs. He’s a great skater and will contribute as one of our top nine forwards” added Pearson. “The fact that he can play all three forward positions is great. He plays very well in his own end and can help out offensively too.” The trade for Keller is the Flyers third trade of the week after adding forward Jagger Thomas from Swan Valley and goaltender Devon Fordyce from OCN before the January 10th trading deadline. The Flyers would like to welcome Ryne and his family to the Flyers organization and look forward to seeing him on the ice in an Orange and Black uniform.

It was a game of missed opportunities for the Winkler Flyers in a 4-1 loss to the Virden Oil Capitals. Playing at Tundra Oil and Gas Place in Virden for the second straight game, the Flyers again failed to capitalize on their chance and the bounces went the home team’s way. With exactly a week off since losing 5-1 in Virden on Friday, January 9th, the Winkler Flyers returned to Virden looking for a better fate. Winkler has had trouble winning on the road as of late, with their last victory away from home coming November 23rd in Selkirk (4-3 win). Devon Fordyce made his first start for Winkler after being acquired from the OCN Blizzard at the trade deadline and was tested early on. Just 3:07 into the hockey game, Virden defenseman Jordan Grieg saw his point shot deflect off the back of teammate Kurt Johnas and past Fordyce, giving the Oil Caps a 1-0 lead. Winkler would find themselves on a series of power-plays after that and tied the game with 8:54 to play in the first when Zak Hicks scored his fifth of the season. The unassisted power-play goal came after Flyers leading scorer Tristan Keck took a stick in the face, forcing him to leave the game. He did not return. The Flyers and Oil Capitals went into the first intermission tied 1-1. The bounces continued to go Virden’s way in the second when a centering pass kicked off the skate of Virden forward Mack Hardy and into the back of the net, giving the Oil Caps a 2-1 lead just under three minutes into the period. It was a power-play goal. Fordyce was strong in the second as Virden carried a one goal lead into the third despite outshooting the Flyers 23-17 through 40 minutes. Winkler also had their chances to score but continued to be baffled by Virden goaltender Sean Kuehn for the second straight game. Early in the third period, the Oil Caps extended their lead to 3-1 when Jake Dudar scored after it appeared Virden carried the puck into the Flyers zone offside. Winkler, now trailing by two goals continued to search for some offense without their leading scorer. With 2:36 left on the clock, Corey Haverstick gave Virden a 4-1 lead when he deposited the rebound after being stopped on a breakaway by Devon Fordyce and the Oil Capitals had all the insurance they needed. Fordyce was very impressive in his first start as a Flyer. He made 31 saves as Virden outshot Winkler 35-22 overall. Winkler’s power-play struggled going 1-for-7, while their penaty-kill went 4-for-5. Along with Fordyce, forward Ryne Keller also played his first game as a member of the Orange and Black and was equally as impressive. The Flyers (24-12-7) will travel to Portage (41-2-2) on Wednesday night, beginning a stretch of four road games in a span of five days. Winkler is (1-3-1) in their four previous meetings with the first place Terriers. You can catch the game live on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com with Matt Friesen’s pregame show live from the PCU Centre at 7:25pm. Winkler remains in fourth place in the MJHL Standings, three points behind the second place Winnipeg Blues, one point behind the third place Steinbach Pistons and three points ahead of the fifth place Virden Oil Capitals. NOTE: The injury Tristan Keck sustained in the first period in Virden is not believed to be serious. He will be re-evaluated in the coming days. GAME STATS

The Winkler Flyers deserved a better fate in Portage on Wednesday night, losing 5-3 to the first place Terriers. With goals by Tristan Keck (38), Cam Whyte (20) and Ryne Keller (1), the Orange and Black played good enough to win but were forced to settle for their third straight loss. Beginning a stretch of four games in five days, the Winkler Flyers traveled to the PCU Centre in Portage for their final regular season against the Terriers. This was the Flyers first trip to Portage since handing the Terriers their first loss of the season back in October. After a few good shifts by the Flyers, the Terriers took advantage of a few defensive miscues and took a 1-0 lead, 3:19 into the game. Portage pounced again just over a minute later, increasing their lead to 2-0 before the game was five minutes old. Winkler settled down after that and started getting some chances of their own. With 8:12 to play in the period, Tristan Keck scored his league leading 38th goal of the season, finishing off a nice pass from Cam Whyte and the Terriers lead was cut to 2-1. Patrice Wren also assisted on the goal. Portage added to their lead just before the nine minute mark of the second period and the Flyers were again down by two goals. It was after that, that the bounces started going Winkler’s way. With under five minutes to play in the second, Cam Whyte stripped a Portage defender of the puck and sent the pass to Tristan Keck on the left wall. Keck then found Ryne Keller in the left slot and he quickly fed it across the goal mouth to Whyte who scored his 20th of the season, bringing the Flyers back to within one. Just over a minute later, Scott Gall skated right through the Terriers defense and nearly scored a highlight reel goal to tie the game. But luckily for Winkler, Ryne Keller was there to deposit the ensuing rebound into the net, tying the game 3-3 with his first goal as a Flyer. Now tied through two periods, the Flyers had 20 minutes to try and get their second victory of the season in Portage. Not long after a flurry of action in the Portage zone, Brad Bowles restored the Terriers lead with 9:59 to play in regulation. And thanks to a series of tough calls late in the period, the Terries added an insurance marker on the power-play with 3:10 to go, securing the 5-3 victory for the home team. Devon Fordyce had another strong game in goal for the Flyers, making his second straight start. The Flyers outshot the Terriers in the second and third periods and outshot them 30-29 overall.  Winkler went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 5-for-6 on the penalty-kill. The Flyers (24-13-7) will head up to Swan River on Friday night to play the Swan Valley Stampeders (19-18-5). Winkler is (2-0) against Swan Valley this season and have outscored them 10-1 in the two previous meetings. It will be the first of three games up north for Winkler which includes a game in OCN on Saturday (7pm) and Dauphin on Sunday (7pm). Friday’s broadcast can be heard live on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com begining with Matt Friesen’s pregame show at 7:25pm. GAME STATS