Coltyn Bates scored his third goal of the game with 23 seconds left in overtime as the Winkler Flyers slid past the Waywayseecappo Wolverines 4-3, Wednesday night at the MJHL Showcase in Winnipeg. The Orange and Black struggled throughout most of the game but were there when it counted as the club moved back into second place in the league standings.
Coming into the game with four straight victories to start the month of December, the Winkler Flyers matched up against Waywayseecappo in their second game at the Showcase. The Flyers had beat Swan Valley 3-1 the night before and were in search of their third win of the season against the Wolverines.
Winkler drew first blood just before the midway point of the first period when Coltyn Bates stole the puck in the slot and sent a shot into the top half of the net to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. It was the Brandon native’s sixth goal of the year.
The Wolverines tied it early in the second with a 5-on-3 power-play goal. The Flyers would get that one back a few minutes later with Will Blake finishing off a nice passing play from Nolan McGuire and Gino Lucia. It was Blake’s 7th goal of the season and it put Winkler back in front 2-1 after two periods.
The Orange and Black failed to find their stride in the game and the power-play continued to struggle, as Winkler went a sixth straight game without registering a goal on the man advantage.
Wayway would tie the game again early in the third period with another power-play goal. And once again, the Flyers would get that one back to retake the lead. With 7:44 gone in the period, Connor Hamonic and Matt Christian assisted on Bates’ second of the game to give Winkler a 3-2 lead.
The Wolverines outplayed the Flyers for the most part on Wednesday night, and for the third time in the game, Wayway tied the score. With just over three and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Landyn Cochrane scored his second of the game to even the score 3-3 and send the game into overtime.
Winkler played their best hockey in the extra period and would get the extra point with a goal in the final minute. After winning a faceoff in the defensive zone, Lawson McDonald rushed the puck down the right wing side and down the wall into the Wayway zone. After turning the corner around the Wolverines defenseman, McDonald sent a pass to Coltyn Bates on the left side. After catching the pass on his back hand, Bates sent a forehand shot past the glove of the Wayway netminder to win the game for Winkler with his third goal of the night.
Goaltender Cole Weaver increased his record to 16-4 with a 30 save effort. The Flyers outshot Wayway 35-33. The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power-play and 4-for-6 on the penalty-kill. The Flyers are now 5-0 in the month of December and are 5-2 in games decided by a single goal.
Winkler (24-9-0) will travel to Portage (22-9-0) on Saturday night to begin a two game home and home series against the Terriers. Puck drop at the PCU Centre is 7:30pm with the pregame show live on Country 88 and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com at 7:25pm. The two teams will then meet again on Sunday night in Winkler in the club’s final game before the MJHL Christmas Break. That will be the only home game for the Flyers in the month of December.
GREAT CANADIAN OIL CHANGE THREE STARS
1ST STAR – F COLTYN BATES (WINKLER)
2ND STAR – F BRENDAN MARTIN (WAYWAY)
3RD STAR – F LANDYN COCHRANE (WAYWAY)