Goaltender Dorrin Luding made 39 saves through 65 minutes of play and stopped all three attempts in the shootout as the Winkler Flyers earned their fourth win in a row, beating the visiting Waywayseecappo Wolverines 4-3 on Tuesday night. Winkler forward Justin Svenson continued to stay hot with two helpers in regulation as well as the eventual shootout winner as he now sits third in the MJHL in points and first in assists.
Returning home after a very successful weekend on the road, the Flyers tried to keep things going in the right direction, playing their fourth game in a span of five days. Thanks to their three wins on the weekend, the Flyers had increased their road record to 6-1. It was at home where the Orange and Black had struggled to find success so far this season, having won just once so far.
The Flyers struggled to get going in the first period and allowed the Wolverines to open the scoring before the game was eight minutes old. The Flyers battled back and tied the game with 3:52 left before intermission. While on a 5-on-3 power-play, rookie defenseman Trent Sambrook crept in from the right point and scored his second goal in as many games to pull Winkler even. Justin Svenson and Jayden McCarthy assisted.
Waywayseecappo went back in front early in the second when former Flyers’ captain Brody Moffatt scored his first goal as a Wolverine to give his new club a 2-1 lead. Just as they did in the first period, the Flyers fought back to tie it up again before intermission. Having already increased his point streak to four games in the first, Justin Svenson picked up another assist on Sulivan Shortreed’s league leading 10th goal of the season and the game was tied 2-2.
Early in the third period, the Wolverines took their third lead of the night thanks to a power-play goal, 2:30 into the period. Fortunately for the Flyers, the third period followed the same script as the previous two and the Winkler pulled even for a third time. With just 1:54 left in regulation, Griffin Leonard stepped into a one time shot to tie the game 3-3 with his seventh of the season and fourth goal in his last four games. Drake Burgin and Nathan Poolman drew the assists and the game was headed to overtime.
The 3-on-3 overtime period provided great drama and excitement with both goaltenders being forced to make some incredible stops. Both goaltenders then shut the door in round one of the shootout. Justin Svenson started round two for Winkler by making a nice move and snapping his shot upstairs to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. That’s all Winkler would need as Dorrin Luding kept the Wolverines off the board in the shootout and the Flyers put one in the win column for the fourth straight game.
Luding finished the night with 39 saves through regulation and overtime as the Flyers and Wolverines both finished the game with 42 shots. Both teams were also 1-for-3 on the power-play.
The Flyers (8-5-0), who have risen to fourth place in the MJHL Standings will enjoy the rest of the week off before hosting the Neepawa Natives on Saturday night. Saturday’s game will be another Winkler Coop 40th Anniversary night where the Flyers will wear their commemorative Orange 40th Anniversary Jerseys. Puck drop is 7:30pm on Saturday night. You can also video stream the game live with a subscription to www.hockeytv.com
