Netminder Levi Mitchell turned aside all 35 shots he faced as the Winkler Flyers fell 3-0 to Steelers in Selkirk on Tuesday night, seeing their seven game road winning streak come to and end. The Flyers dominated play for much of the game, but failed to hit the back of the net, losing for the first time in regulation since October 15th.
Entering the game with a 6-0-1 record in their last seven outings, the Flyers looked to continue their stellar play away from home having not lost on the road since their first game of the regular season.
The Flyers fell behind early when Carter Barley capitalized on a turnover at the Winkler blueline and beat Dorrin Luding through the five hole on the ensuing breakaway to give Selkirk a 1-0 lead just 1:26 into the game.
From then on, the Flyers settled down and started to take the game to the Steelers. The only problem was that Selkirk goaltender Levi Mitchell seemed to have the Flyers’ number as every single opportunity seemed to come up short just at the goal line. The second period was the Flyers’ best period as they outshot Selkirk 17-4 in the middle frame but could not buy a goal. With five minutes left in the second, the Steelers jumped on a defensive miscue and doubled their lead to 2-0.
The final nail came when Blake Burr tipped in Selkirk’s third goal early in the third period and the hole that the Flyers had found themselves in proved too deep to climb out of.
Dorrin Luding made 28 saves in goal for Winkler as the Flyers outshot Selkirk 35-31 overall. Another bright spot for Winkler was their penalty-kill which has struggled to start the season. After allowing a power-play goal against in their last seven straight games, the Steelers were held off the board in their five chances on the man-advantage. Winkler also went 0-for-4 on their power-plays.
The Flyers (10-6-1) will hit the road this weekend for two more games. On Friday night, the Flyers will take on the Dauphin Kings followed by a Saturday evening tilt in OCN. Both games can be heard live on Country 88 and viewed live with a subscription to www.hockeytv.com
NOTE: Flyers forward Mateo Albinati served the first game of a four game suspension after receiving a five minute Blow to the Head penalty in Neepawa on Sunday night. Albinati currently sits fourth in team scoring with 16 points in 15 games played.