The Portage Terriers scored four unanswered goals while handing the Winkler Flyers a 5-2 loss at home. Tristan Keck and Zak Hicks scored for Winkler and Connor Hamonic had a pair of assists as the Flyers lose for just the fourth time at home this season. Two days removed from ending their losing streak with a win over the visiting Winnipeg Blues, the second place Flyers welcomed the MJHL’s top club for their second last meeting of the regular season. Winkler had a (1-2-1) record in their previous four meetings against Portage. After trading chances in the first period, Tristan Keck ripped home his league leading 28th goal of the season with 4:34 to play before the break. Connor Hamonic and Patrice Wren picked up the assists and the Flyers led 1-0. With 1:43 to go in the period, the Terriers tied the game at one. Dasan Sydora had a strong opening frame as the Terriers outshot Winkler 14-8 through the first 20 minutes. The Flyers took the lead back just over two minutes into the second period when Connor Hamonic slid the puck over to Zak Hicks who scored his fourth of the season. Jeff Michiels drew the second assist. Portage tied the game again, 8:14 into the period when Zach Waldvogel scored a power-play goal. Just under two minutes later, the game turned for Winkler. At the 10:01 mark of the period, the Terriers appeared to score again. The goal was initially waved off by the official, but was later called a good goal, giving the Terriers a 3-2 lead. Portage took their one goal lead into the second intermission while outshooting the Flyers 27-16. Winkler played better in the third period but could not get back into the game. The Terriers would add two more in the period and skate away with the 5-2 victory. Dasan Sydora (16-4-1) took the loss in goal making 30 saves as the Terriers outshot the Flyers 35-27. Winkler went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 6-for-8 on the penalty-kill. The Flyers (20-9-5) will complete their three game homestand on Friday, December 12th when they host the Dauphin Kings (7:30pm). The game is VISP “Free for All” night where all fans will get into the game free of charge and the first 1000 fans through the door will receive a Winkler Flyers/VISP cowbell. There will also be some great prizes available. You won’t want to miss this one. NOTE: Scott Gall, Jordan Wall, Evan Last and Nolan McGuire all missed the game due to injury. Jordan MaCausland, Coltyn Bates and Robert Hechler of the Brandon AAA Wheat Kings made their Flyers debut on Tuesday and played well. GAME STATS

Zak Hicks scored the shootout winner in the fourth round as the Winkler Flyers beat the visiting Dauphin Kings 6-5 in front of nearly 1200 fans at the Winkler Recreation Complex. Tristan Keck led the way with two power-play goals to lead the Flyers to their 21st win of the season. Playing in front of their largest crowd of the season, the Orange and Black took on the Dauphin Kings in one of the most entertaining games in recent memory. Friday night was VISP “Free for All” night, where each and every fan received free admission to the game courtesy of VISP – Next Generation Internet. Winkler had beaten the Kings in their previous four meetings and had scored at least six goals in three of those games. The Kings went at the Flyers in the opening few minutes and took a 1-0 lead just under four minutes into the hockey game. Winkler responded well to the early setback and would rattle off three goals of their own in the first period. The first came on the power-play, 8:11 into the period when Patrice Wren and Cam Whyte assisted on Tristan Keck’s 29th goal of the season, tying the game 1-1. Nearly three minutes later, Connor Hamonic snuck one in from a sharp angle and the Flyers had their first lead of the night. Kayden Jarvis and Bryce Enns drew the assists on Hamonic’s third goal of the year. With 5:46 to play in the period, Kayden Jarvis picked up a Jon Carlson rebound and tapped home his fifth of the season, giving Winkler a 3-1 lead heading into the second. The Flyers outshot the Kings 16-10 through the first 20 minutes. Winkler added to their lead in the second period with the goal coming from 16 year old Nicholas Labossiere. With 6:55 to play in the second, the young Flyers’ AP carried the puck across the goal mouth and snapped in his first ever MJHL goal. Zak Hicks and Tanner Hepp assisted and the Flyers led 4-1. The Kings would get back into the game in the late stages of the second, scoring two goals while cutting Winkler’s lead to 4-3 after two periods. Dauphin held onto the momentum in the third and tied the game 4-4 just over three minutes into the period. The third period provided plenty of drama and excitement with both teams in search of the go ahead goal. Late in the third, the Flyers found themselves on the power-play with a chance to go back in front. Winkler’s power-play, which had been in a horrible slump the last number of weeks connected for the second time in the game with 4:49 left in regulation. After taking the pass from Connor Hamonic in the left wing corner, Cam Whyte swung it towards the front of the net where Tristan Keck was waiting to snap home his MJHL leading 30th goal of the season and second of the game. Trying to hang on for the win, the Flyers found themselves playing in their own end late in the period. With the Dauphin goaltender on the bench in favor of the extra attacker, the Kings would score the equalizer with 1:13 remaining on the clock. The two teams would head to overtime in a 5-5 tie. After overtime solved nothing, the Flyers and Kings were headed to a shootout. The shootout had not been kind to Winkler this season having lost all four of their games that went to the skills competition. Cam Whyte went first for the Flyers and could not beat Kings goaltender Troy Martyniuk. After Dasan Sydora stopped Kings forward Rylan Freed, Patrice Wren would also be stopped by the Dauphin keeper. Sydora shut the door and the second Kings shooter. Tristan Keck went next for the Flyers, and again failed to capitalize. Kings defenseman Ben Hull also failed in his attempt which moved the competition into round four with neither team scoring a goal. Zak Hicks was up next for Winkler and fired a wrist shot low glove side. The goal was initially waved off, but after a short discussion it was determined that the shot went through the net before hitting the back wall. With Winkler up 1-0 in the shootout, it was up to Dasan Sydora to stop the next shot to give Winkler the win. And the Flyers goaltender did just that. Sydora stopped Dylan Bredhal for the victory clincher and the Flyers were awarded the 6-5 win. All in all it was a wildly entertaining affair with end to end action, drama and excitement. Sydora (17-5-1) picked up the win in goal making 34 saves. Winkler outshot Dauphin 44-39 through 65 minutes of play. The Flyers went 2-for-4 on the power-play and 4-for-4 on the penalty-kill. The third place Flyers (21-9-5) will travel to Steinbach (18-9-4) on Sunday night to play the Pistons. The Flyers are (1-1) against Steinbach this season and have not played their rivals since the opening weekend of the regular season. You can catch Sunday’s game live on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com with Matt Friesen’s pregame show getting underway at 6:55pm. The Winkler Flyers would also like to thank VISP – Next Generation Internet for a very successful “Free for All” night. The Flyers would also like to congratulate all the prize winners and would also like to announce they will be donating $1,773 to the Katie Cares Respite Home Project from Friday’s 50/50 pot.  Thank you all for your support. GAME STATS

The Steinbach Pistons scored four power-play goals in a 7-1 victory over the Winkler Flyers in the third meeting of the season between the two rivals. Patrice Wren scored the only goal for Winkler and goaltender Casey Parker took the loss in his second start as a Flyer. After a thrilling shootout win over the visiting Dauphin Kings on Friday night, the Flyers traveled to the TG Smith Center in Steinbach to play the Pistons for the third time this season. The Flyers and Pistons had not played each other since the opening weekend of the season, when both teams won their respective home openers. Early in the first period, just moments after a good looking Flyers’ power-play, the Pistons carried the puck into the Winkler zone on a 3-on-2 and beat Casey Parker under the blocker arm, taking a 1-0 lead at the 4:38 mark of the period. Not even two minutes later, Steinbach doubled their lead to 2-0. The Flyers trailed 2-0 after the first period but not for a lack of chances. Winkler had four power-plays in the frame and generated a huge number of chances but no goals. Winkler cut Steinbach’s lead to 2-1 early in the second period when Patrice Wren finished off a nice pass from Tristan Keck just 1:26 into the period. Cam Whyte drew the second assist on Wren’s eighth of the season. However, just passed the seven minute mark of the period, Denis Bosc picked the top corner over Parker from a sharp angle and the Pistons lead was back up to two. The Pistons took control of the game later in the period when they scored their fourth goal on a 5-on-3 power-play, and took a 5-1 lead on the ensuing 5-on-4 power-play, 9:56 into the second. That would spell the end of the night for Parker who finished the game with just 13 saves on 18 shots. With Dasan Sydora now in goal, the Flyers shut down the Pistons the rest of the period and trailed by four heading into the third. With the effort level still there in the third, the Flyers gave up two more power-play goals in the period and the Pistons had a 7-1 lead. Casey Parker (0-2) took the loss in goal making 13 saves on 18 shots faced through a period and a half. Dasan Sydora (17-5-1) made 16 saves on the 18 shots he faced. Steinbach outshot the Flyers 36-24 overall. Winkler went 0-for-4 on the power-play and just 1-for-5 on the penalty-kill. The Flyers (21-10-5) remain in third place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Standings, one point back of the second place Winnipeg Blues and three points ahead of the fourth place Steinbach Pistons. Winkler will host the Neepawa Natives on Friday, December 19th (7:30pm) in their final home game before the MJHL Christmas Break. The draw for the Katie Cares Respite Home Raffle will take place during the game. GAME STATS

The line of Tristan Keck, Patrice Wren and Cam Whyte recorded 14 points as the Flyers routed the Neepawa Natives 8-3 in their final home game before the MJHL Christmas break. Winkler raced out to a 5-0 first period lead, and fired nearly 60 shots on net while earning their 22nd win of the season. Playing the Natives for the first time at home this year, Winkler was looking to hit the win column for the first time in three games against Neepawa. In their two previous meetings at the Yellowhead Centre, Winkler came home with a shoot-out loss and a regulation loss. The Flyers offense clicked early, as Patrice Wren (9) scored the game’s first goal just 1:21 into the contest. Cam Whyte and Tristan Keck picked up the assists. Just over a minute later, Cam Whyte and Jon Carlson helped Jeff Michiels score his second, giving Winkler a 2-0 lead, 2:22 into the hockey game. Winkler struck again at the 5:06 mark when Tristan Keck potted his league best 31st with Wren and Whyte assisting. The Flyers next two goals came on the power-play. The first one came off the stick of Bryce Enns (8) with the assists going to Lawson McDonald and Jordan Wall. The second one came from Tristan Keck with Patrice Wren and Zak Hicks assisting on Keck’s second of the game and 32nd of the season. The first period came to a close with the Flyers outshooting the Natives 17-11 and leading the game 5-0. The Orange and Black scored the lone goal of the second period, and it came at the 7:03 mark. Skating towards the front of the net, Patrice Wren redirected a nice Tristan Keck pass through Neepawa goaltender Reid Stallard and the Flyers lead had grown to 6-0. Winkler outshot Neepawa 22-8 in the second period and took their six goal lead into the third. The Natives finally beat Winkler goaltender Dasan Sydora just over a minute and a half into the third but the Flyers were quick to get that one back. Just over six minutes into the period, Cam Whyte finished off a pretty passing play with Patrice Wren and Scott Gall and the Flyers had regained their six goal lead thanks to Whyte’s 17th of the season. Neepawa then cut Winkler’s lead to 7-2 at the 9:22 mark of the third, before Evan Last put the Flyers ahead 8-2 just a few minutes later with Winkler’s third power-play goal of the night. Cam Whyte and Lawson McDonald recorded the assists on Last’s fifth of the year. With Winkler in full control of the hockey game, Neepawa scored their third goal with five seconds left. Dasan Sydora (18-5-1) was good when called upon making 25 saves in the win. The Flyers outshot Neepawa 56-28 overall. Winkler went 3-for-10 on the power-play and 10-for-10 on the penalty-kill. Scott Gall and Evan Last returned to the lineup after missing the last number of games due to injury. Gall picked up an assist after missing the last 10 games, while Last scored a goal after sitting out the last four. Patrice Wren finished the game with five points (2 goals – 3 assists), Cam Whyte also recorded five points (1 goal – 4 assists) and Tristan Keck had four points (2 goals – 2 assist). Lawson McDonald also had a multi-point game with two assists. Winkler (22-10-5) will travel to Steinbach (21-9-4) on Saturday night for their final game before the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Christmas break. In three games against the Pistons this season, the Flyers are (1-2) with both losses coming on the road. Winkler remains in third place in the MJHL Standings, one point back of the second place Winnipeg Blues and three points ahead of the fourth place Pistons. You can catch Saturday’s game live from the TG Smith Centre in Steinbach with Matt Friesen’s pregame show on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com getting underway at 7:25pm. The next Flyers’ home game will be December 31st when the Flyers host the Steinbach Pistons in a New Year’s Even matinee at 4:30pm. GAME STATS

The Winkler Flyers dropped a heart breaker in Steinbach on Saturday night, losing 5-4 in a shootout to the Pistons in their final game before the Christmas Break. The single point moves the Flyers into a second place tie with the Winnipeg Blues in the MJHL Standings as they move into the unofficial second half of the season. Looking to avenge their 7-1 loss in Steinbach less than a week ago, the Winkler Flyers traveled to the TG Smith Centre trying to build on their 8-3 win over the visiting Neepawa Natives the night before. After the Pistons took the lead just over eight and a half minutes into the game, Cam Whyte deked out Steinbach goaltender Nick Deery with 6:30 to play in the period, tying the game at one. Tristan Keck assisted on Whyte’s 18th of the season. Winkler then took the lead early in the second period when Kayden Jarvis buried a Nicholas Labossiere pass for his sixth of the year. Minutes later, Jon Carlson one-timed home a Jeff Michiels feed from behind the net and Winkler had a 3-1 lead thanks to Carlson’s third of the year, 9:53 into the second. Steinbach cut Winkler’s lead to 3-2 with seven minutes remaining on the power-play. Flyers goaltender Dasan Sydora was having another strong outing, keeping his club in the lead through 40 minutes, despite being outshot 32-15 after two periods. Tyler Penner pulled Steinbach even, 3:30 into the third period but Winkler would take the lead back just over five minutes later. At the 8:36 mark of the third, Bryce Enns and Connor Hamonic assisted on Scott Gall’s 11th of the year and the Flyers were back in front 4-3. The fast paced, exciting hockey game would get turned up a notch at the end which led to the Pistons tying goal. With Zak Hicks already in the penalty box late in regulation, Dasan Sydora would get knocked down beside the goal by Pistons forward Tyler Garrioch. After no penalty was called on the play, both players made their way towards the Flyers net. Seconds later, Sydora chopped down the Steinbach forward in front of the goal, resulting in a five minute spearing major and a game misconduct for the Flyers’ goaltender and a lengthy 5-on-3 power-play for the Pistons. Goaltender Casey Parker was then called into action with 2:36 left in the third, the Flyers leading 4-3 and the Pistons on the power-play. After a series of great saves by Parker, the Pistons managed to sneak in the tying goal with 1:55 left in regulation. Still on the power-play, the Pistons stormed the Flyers’ net the rest of the way but Parker and the Flyers would hold on until the buzzer. In overtime, the Flyers killed off the rest of the Sydora major and had a small power-play of their own which they came close to scoring on, but the game would head to a shootout knotted up at four. After Casey Parker and Pistons’ goaltender Nick Deery shut the door in the first three rounds, Tyler Penner snuck the game winner around the left leg of Parker giving Steinbach the extra point and the 5-4 victory. Dasan Sydora and Casey Parker combined to make 54 saves through 65 minutes of play as Steinbach outshot Winkler 58-20. The Flyers now fall to (1-5) in shootout games. Winkler went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 2-for-4 on the penalty-kill. At (22-10-6) the Winkler Flyers move into a second place tie with the Winnipeg Blues in the MJHL Standings heading into the Christmas Break. The Flyers will host the Steinbach Pistons on December 31st in a New Year’s Eve Matinee (4:30pm) in their first game back from the break. The Winkler Flyers family would like to wish all their fans and supporters a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you all after the break. GAME STATS

As the unofficial first half of the season comes to a close, the Winkler Flyers head into the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Christmas Break tied for second place in the standings with a (22-10-6) record. With 22 games remaining in the 2014-15 season, the Flyers will hope to build upon one of their hottest starts in recent memory. After taking three of four points in their final weekend before the break, the Flyers are now off until their New Year’s Eve matinee against the Steinbach Pistons on December 31st (4:30pm @ Winkler Recreation Complex). The Orange and Black are off to one of their best starts in years at (22-10-6 = 50pts). At this same time last season, the Flyers were in last place in the Addison Division with a record of (11-23-4 = 26pts). Tristan Keck has been finding the back of the net at a record setting pace, leading the MJHL with 32 goals in 38 games. Cam Whyte, Patrice Wren, Scott Gall and many others continue to round out a pretty consistent Flyers’ offense. Winkler is just 35 goals off of their season totals from last year with 138 goals scored through 38 games this year compared to 173 goals scored all of last season. Goaltender Dasan Sydora has been the back bone of the Flyers’ defense sitting near the top of the league in both wins and shutouts. The Flyers defense corps also continues to grow and improve with just two of the Flyers’ seven defenseman having more than a year and a half of Junior Hockey experience. Of Winkler’s final 22 games remaining in the season, 12 of them are against teams in the bottom half of the standings (Swan Valley-4, Neepawa-3, Selkirk-2, Dauphin-1, Waywayseecappo-1, OCN-1). Winkler has just one game left against the first place Portage Terriers, two games remaining against the Winnipeg Blues (tied for second with Winkler), two against the fourth place Steinbach Pistons and five against the fifth place Virden Oil Capitals. The Flyers have 10 games left at home and 12 on the road. With 21 players currently on the roster, the Flyers have three open cards to use before the January 10th trading deadline.   The entire Winkler Flyers organization would like wish all their players, fans and supporters a very Merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you again after the break.

As the Winkler Flyers get ready for the unofficial second half of the season, the club has announced their leadership group for the remainder of the season. Head Coach Ken Pearson has given 20 year old forward Patrice Wren the Captain “C”, while Tristan Keck, Reid Burak and Jon Carlson will serve as Assistant Captains. “With a veteran group we knew we had good leadership candidates, and we just wanted to see who evolved as the leaders both on and off the ice” said Pearson when asked why he waited until the Christmas break to decide on his captains. Patrice Wren came to Winkler in a trade this past off season from the Pembroke Lumber Kings where he won the RBC Cup in 2011. The 20 year old from Beachburg, Ontario is in the middle of his fourth year of junior hockey. He is currently third in team scoring with 29 points (10 goals – 19 assists). “Wren plays in all situations and has done everything you want to do in junior hockey. He plays the way we want all our guys to play. He also has the respect of all our players which is important for us.” Added Pearson. Morris, Manitoba native Tristan Keck is in his third season in Winkler and served as an Assistant Captain in 2013-2014. Morden product Reid Burak is also in his third season as a Flyer. Jon Carlson, from Fort Francis, Ontario was picked up in a trade from Portage this summer. “Tristan and Reid have been here for three years and have gone through the ups and downs, with both bringing a different dynamic to the team. Reid will battle for you, do anything for his teammates and say something when needed, Tristan is more of a lead by example kind of guy. Jon came in this summer and from day one jumped right in and became a great team player.” The Winkler Flyers will host the Steinbach Pistons on Wednesday, December 31st at 4:30pm in their New Year’s Eve matinee. It will be Winkler’s first game back from the Christmas Break.

Scott Gall scored his second of the game, 19 seconds into overtime to lift the Winkler Flyers to a 6-5 win over the Steinbach Pistons on New Years Eve. Dasan Sydora made 39 saves to help the Orange and Black pick up the win in their first game back from the Christmas break. With both teams hitting the ice for the first time since they met December 20th in Steinbach, the Flyers and Pistons met for a New Year’s Eve matinee in Winkler. The Flyers had a (1-2-1) in their four previous meetings against the Pistons. After the Pistons took a 1-0 lead on the power-play, just over seven minutes into the game, Kayden Jarvis tipped in his seventh of the year on the power-play pulling the Flyers even at a goal a piece. Jordan Wall and Even Last assisted on the goal with 9:21 to play in the first. With just under two minutes left in the opening period, Scott Gall and Lawson McDonald assisted on Jarvis’ second of the game and the Flyers had a 2-1 lead. Steinbach would tie the game in the final minute and the two teams skated into the intermission tied 2-2 with the Pistons outshooting the Flyers 16-6 through 20 minutes. Steinbach pushed back hard in the second period but Dasan Sydora and the Flyers defense managed to hold off the Pistons attack. After a number of minutes of being pinned in their own zone, Kayden Jarvis rushed the puck up the ice and slid it over to Scott Gall who tipped in his 12th to put the Flyers up 3-2 with 5:55 left in the second. Despite being outplayed in the middle frame, Winkler added to their lead with just over a minute left in the period when Cam Whyte scored a short-handed marker giving Winkler a 4-2 lead. It was Whyte’s 19th goal of the season and it gave Winkler a 4-2 lead after the second, despite being outshot 28-17 through 40 minutes. The Pistons started the third period with their second power-play goal of the game midway through the period, cutting Winkler’s lead to 4-3. The Flyers got that one back with 6:45 left in regulation when Lawson McDonald scored his eighth from Scott Gall and Evan Last. Now trailing 5-3, the Pistons scored two straight goals, including their third power-play goal of the night with 2:10 left on the clock and the game remained tied 5-5 after regulation. The ensuing overtime period did not last long as Scott Gall carried the puck down the left wing and snapped in his second of the game into the top corner giving the Flyers the 6-5 victory. Zak Hicks drew the lone assist on Gall’s 13th of the season. Dasan Sydora made 39 stops while improving his record to (19-5-2). The Pistons outshot the Flyers 44-25 overall. Winkler went 2-for-4 on the power-play and 1-for-4 on the penalty-kill. Four different Flyers recorded multi-point games with Scott Gall (2 goals – 2 assists), Lawson McDonald (1 goal – 2 assists), Evan Last (2 assists) and Kayden Jarvis (2 goals -1 assist) all recording more than one point. The Flyers (23-10-6) will host the Selkirk Steelers on Friday, January 2nd in their next game. The Flyers remain tied for second place in the MJHL Standings with the Winnipeg Blues and lead the fourth place Pistons by three points. GAME STATS

The Winkler Flyers managed only a single point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the visiting Selkirk Steelers on Friday night, in the middle game of their three game homestand. The Flyers fired nearly 50 shots on goal and dominated much of the game only to see too many of their chance fail to produce results. Playing their first game of 2015, the Flyers welcomed the Steelers looking for their second win in a row. The Flyers had three wins and a loss in their previous four games against their rivals from Selkirk. The Flyers opened the scoring at the tail end of the first period thanks to captain Patrice Wren. With 41 seconds left on the clock, Wren stripped a Steelers forward of the puck in front of the Flyers net and carried it down the ice. Near the top of the left faceoff circle, he snapped a wrist shot over the shoulder of goaltender Hayden Dola, scoring his 11th of the year and giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Winkler continued to generate more scoring chances in the second period and had many great opportunities to add to their lead but failed to find the back of the net. The Flyers lead remained 1-0 through 40 minutes while outshooting Selkirk 29-22 after two periods. With 7:52 to play in the third period, Steelers’ forward Justin Derlago snuck the puck through the legs of goaltender Dasan Sydora and the game was tied 1-1. The Flyers had several chances to take the lead back but it was Selkirk who took a 2-1 lead with just 1:18 to play in regulation. Now trailing for the first time in the hockey game, the Flyers pulled their goaltender with a faceoff coming up deep in Selkirk territory in the final 30 seconds of the period. After winning the faceoff, Patrice Wren got the puck to Tristan Keck on the right wing wall and the league’s leading goal scorer wired a shot into the top corner pulling Winkler even with just 11 seconds to play. It was Keck’s 33rd goal of the season. The Flyers had their chances to finish off the Steelers in overtime but the contest remained 2-2 through 65 minutes of play. The shootout was quick, as both Selkirk shooters would find the back of the net while Scott Gall and Patrice Wren were either stopped by the goaltender or the goal post and the Steelers would get the extra point and the 3-2 victory. Dasan Sydora had another strong game in goal for Winkler making 38 saves while seeing his record slip to (19-5-3). The Red Deer native made many key stops in the game, including a couple of big saves on Selkirk breakaways. Winkler outshot Selkirk 49-40 through 65 minutes of play. The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power-play and 2-for-2 on the penalty-kill. The Flyers (23-10-7) move into sole possession of second place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the point and have now earned at least a point in their last four games. Winkler will host the Neepawa Natives (10-26-2) on Tuesday, January 6th in their next game. It will be Winkler’s final home game until February 1st against Virden thanks to the Provincial Women’s Curling Championship being played in Winkler later in the month. GAME STATS

After a sluggish first period, the Winkler Flyers scored six unanswered goals in a 7-2 win over the visiting Neepawa Natives. Tristan Keck recorded his second career hat-trick, helping the Flyers erase a 2-1 first period deficit while earning their 24th win of the season. Playing their third of three straight home games, the Flyers welcomed the Neepawa Natives for their final game at home in the month of January. Winkler came into the game having earned at least a point in their last four games, which included an 8-3 win over Neepawa, January 2nd in Winkler in their last meeting. The Flyers got off to a quick start as Scott Gall scored his first of the game just 1:18 into the first period. Lawson McDonald and Evan Last drew the assists on the Morden native’s 14th goal of the season. However, the period would go downhill for Winkler moments later. Just over three minutes after the Flyers took a 1-0 lead, former Flyer Shawn Pachet tied the game for Neepawa. The Natives kept swarming the Flyers net, only to have goaltender Dasan Sydora turn them aside for the bulk of the period. Neepawa, who had a shot lead of 18-6 at one point in the period took a 2-1 lead with 4:23 left in the first and took their one goal advantage into the intermission. The second period went a lot smoother for Winkler as they started to take control of the game. Winkler tied the game 2-2 with 8:21 left on the clock thanks to Tristan Keck’s 34th of the season. Not even a minute later, Scott Gall drove through the Neepawa defense, made a nice move around goaltender Alex Henry, and tucked home his second of the game. Evan Last drew his second assist of the game and the Flyers had a 3-2 lead. Tristan Keck would score his second of the game with 1:08 to play before the break and Winkler took a 4-2 lead into the intermission. After being out-played and out-shot in the first period, the Flyers outshot Neepawa 19-6 in the second and had a two goal lead heading into the third. Just over seven and a half minutes into the third period, Evan Last and Scott Gall assisted on Kayden Jarvis’ ninth of the season and the Flyers lead was up to 5-2. Just 95 seconds later, Jordan Wall scored his second goal of the year when his point shot found the back of the net and Winkler had a four goal lead. With 14 seconds left in regulation, Tristan Keck hit the back of the net for the third time in the game and Winkler’s lead had grown to 7-2. Scott Gall and Tanner Hepp assisted on Keck’s league leading 36th goal of the season. Dasan Sydora (20-5-3) made 32 saves while earning his 20th win of the season. Winkler out-shot Neepawa 35-34 overall, 24-15 in the second and third periods. Winkler went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 4-for-4 on the penalty-kill. Tristan Keck (3 goals – 1 assist), Scott Gall (2 goals – 2 assists), Evan Last (3 assists) and Connor Hamonic (2 assists) all recorded multi-point games. Winkler played much of the game with just 15 skaters after Bryce Enns left with an injury after taking a check in the opening minutes of the game. Linemate Brett Klassen was then ejected after the subsequent fighting penalty. Assistant Captain Reid Burak was a late scratch due to illness. The Flyers (24-10-7) remain in second place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League after the win as they now begin a stretch of six straight road games. Winkler will travel to Virden for the first time this season on Friday, January 9th (7:30pm). You can listen to Friday’s game live on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com with Matt Friesen’s pregame show at 7:25pm. GAME STATS