The Orange and Black dropped a 4-1 decision to the Pistons in Steinbach on Saturday night in their final game of the MJHL preseason. Goaltender Dorrin Ludin stopped 43 of the 47 shots that came his way as the Flyers ended their exhibition schedule with a 3-3 record.
After playing each other in an entertaining game the night before in Winkler, the Flyers and Pistons met again in Steinbach for a final tune up before facing off against each other again to start the regular season next weekend.
The Flyers got off to a good start when 20 year old forward Jaden Townsend picked off a pass in the Pistons’ zone and scored a short-handed goal to give Winkler a 1-0 lead not even a minute into the game. Steinbach evened the score at one a few minutes later and the game went tied 1-1 into the first intermission.
The middle frame was a back and forth period of hockey which saw the Pistons take a one goal lead into the third. Steinbach put the pressure on in the third and outshot the Flyers 19-4 in the final 20 minutes. Of those 19 third period shots, only two of them managed to beat Flyers’ netminder Dorrin Luding, who was the best player on the ice for the Flyers in the contest.
Overall, Luding made 43 saves in the game as Steinbach outshot Winkler 47-28 overall. The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 4-for-4 on the penalty-kill. Winkler will spend the next few days finalizing their opening night roster as they prepare to face off against the Pistons again in a home and home series to begin the regular season.
The Flyers will kick off the 2019-2020 regular season in Steinbach on Friday, September 20th before hosting the Pistons in their home opener on Saturday the 21st.
Stay tuned to www.winklerflyers.com for more information as the club moves towards the start of the regular season.