Dasan Sydora kicked aside all 33 shots he faced as the Winkler Flyers shutout the visiting Waywayseecappo Wolverines 4-0 in the final game of their three game home stand. Tristan Keck scored twice and Shawn Pachet had four assists as Winkler improved to 4-1 on the season.
After a thrilling 6-4 win over the Dauphin Kings the night before, keeping their perfect home ice record alive, the Flyers welcomed the Waywayseecappo Wolverines looking for their third straight regular season win. Including the preseason, Winkler had won 10 of their last 11 games coming into the contest.
The Flyers came out of the gate with a lot of energy and took a 1-0 lead just 6:14 into the game. Zak Hicks and Shawn Pachet drew the assists on Cam Whyte’s third goal of the season and the Flyers were in business.
Winkler peppered Wayway goaltender Justin Holder with 17 shots in the first and added to their lead just past the midway point of the period. With 7:20 to play in the first and with the Flyers on the power-play, Shawn Pachet fed a back door pass to Tristan Keck who made no mistake in giving the home side a 2-0 lead. Connor Hamonic also assisted on Keck’s fifth of the season.
The only down side of the opening period was that the Flyers couldn’t make their lead any larger while out-shooting the Wolverines 17-7 through the first 20 minutes.
Wayway fought back in the second period but goaltender Dasan Sydora, who was making his second regular season start for the Flyers, kept his team in front 2-0 after two periods.
The Orange and Black got some insurance in the third period and again it came on the power-play. With 6:45 gone in the period, Lawson McDonald scored his first of the season, pushing the Flyers in front by a score of 3-0. Jon Carlson and Shawn Pachet drew the assists.
Tristan Keck would add his second of the game and sixth of the season with 8:44 left in regulation and Winkler now had a 4-0 lead. Shawn Pachet picked up his fourth assist of the night and Josh Cook also added a helper.
With Dasan Sydora and the Flyers defense taking care of business in the defensive zone and the Flyers offense doing their job, the Flyers would seal the deal and come away with a 4-0 victory.
Sydora finished the game with 33 saves and picked up his first MJHL victory and shutout at the same time. Both teams finished the game with 33 shots. Winkler went 2-for-6 on the power-play and went 4-for-4 on the penalty-kill.
With the win, the Flyers increase their record to 4-1, which puts them in a first place tie with the Winnipeg Blues (8 points). Winkler will now play their next four games on the road. The Flyers’ next game is Tuesday, September 30th in Portage. You can catch the game live on Country 88.9FM and online at www.pembinavalleyonline.com with Matt Friesen’s pregame show at 7:25pm.