Troy Martyniuk stopped all 24 shots he faced as the Winkler Flyers picked up their fourth win in a row, blanking the Blues in Winnipeg 2-0 on Sunday night. The Flyers played strong in the provincial capital, finishing their busy weekend with three wins in three days.
After back to back home ice wins over Waywayseecappo and Dauphin, where the Flyers outscored their opponents by a combined total of 14-2, the Orange and Black hit the road for their third game of the weekend. Since starting the regular season with two losses, Winkler has looked like a completely different team, posting victories in their last three games entering play on Sunday. The Flyers first win of that streak came in their first meeting against the Blues, this past Tuesday night in Winkler.
The first period was a slow, back and forth 20 minutes of hockey, with both teams not giving the other much to work with. Winkler began to take over in the second, and despite playing their third game in three days the Flyers started picking up the pace.
The Flyers hit the scoreboard first, scoring the game’s first goal on a delayed Winnipeg penalty. Just before the halfway point of the second, and with Troy Martyniuk on the bench in favor of the extra attacker, Coltyn Bates scored his fifth of the year and third in his last three games to put Winkler ahead 1-0. CJ Corazzin and Brody Moffatt assisted on the goal. For Moffatt, it was his fourth straight game with a point and for Corazzin his second.
Near the end of the period, and with a Flyer in the penalty box, 20 year old forward Matt Christian was sprung on a short-handed breakaway. After faking the forehand shot, the second year Flyer tucked his backhander under the arm of Winnipeg goaltender Jeremy Link to increase Winkler’s lead to 2-0 with his second goal of the season. It was the Flyers’ league leading third short-handed goal of the year. The goal by Christian and Bates’ goal earlier in the period, allowed both players to increase their point streaks to six games.
With the help of goaltender Troy Martyniuk and a solid defensive effort in the third period, the Flyers would go on to win the game 2-0. Martyniuk made 24 saves in the game, winning his third straight start. The Flyers outshot Winnipeg 35-24 overall. Winkler went 0-for-6 on the power-play and 3-for-3 on the penalty-kill.
After playing four games in a span of six games, the Flyers will now enjoy a much needed week off before their next game. Winkler will begin a four game home stand when they host the defending champion Portage Terriers on Sunday, October 8th. Puck drop at the Winkler Rec Complex is 7:30pm.
GREAT CANADIAN OIL CHANGE THREE STARS
1ST STARS – G TROY MARTYNIUK (WINKLER)
2ND STAR – F COLTYN BATES (WINKLER)
3RD STAR – F MATT CHRISTIAN (WINKLER)