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.