The Winkler Royals strengthened their hold on first place Sunday night, defeating the Red River Wild 2–1 in overtime in SEMHL action on Nov. 30.
Morden Bombers netminder Aaron Brunn makes a blocker save on the close in shot by Portage’s Jared Roy in last Friday’s game, which the Bombers won 5-4 in overtime
After a scoreless opening period, Winkler broke through at 8:02 of the second when Brett Stovin finished a setup from assistant captain Adam Henry. Royals goaltender Matthew Thiessen protected the lead into the third period, turning away chance after chance in a 38-save performance.
Red River finally pulled even at 9:53 of the third on a marker from Tyler Anderson, assisted by Justin Baudry, sending the game to extra time. Winkler needed just over four minutes of overtime to close it out, with Justin Augert netting the winner at 4:12. Both teams went scoreless on special teams, with Winkler finishing 0-for-3 and Red River 0-for-1 on the power play.
The win keeps Winkler firmly on top of the SEMHL standings. The Royals improved to 6-0-0-1 for 13 points, the league’s best record and a .857 winning percentage. They also lead the league defensively and sit among the top offensive teams, having scored 36 goals while allowing only 14, the fewest against of any SEMHL club. Winkler remains perfect at home at 4-0, and has collected points in every road game with a 2-0-0-1 mark away from the Winkler arena.
Red River sits fourth overall at 3-2-1, with 32 goals for and 26 against through six games.
Winkler returns home Wednesday, Dec. 3, to host Portage at 7:30 p.m.
The Morden Bombers battled from behind three times before skating away with a 5–4 overtime victory against the Portage Islanders in SEMHL action this week.
After falling behind 2–0 in the opening 12 minutes, the Bombers clawed back late in the first. Mike Rey put Morden on the board at 17:02, converting a setup from Andrew Clark and Jaden Townsend to cut the deficit heading into intermission.
Morden struck early in the second when Logan Christensen finished a passing play from Cade Kowalski and Clark to tie the game 2–2. Although Portage briefly regained the lead with a power-play goal at 16:24, the Bombers answered again less than two minutes later. Clark buried the equalizer at 18:04, with Kowalski and Collin Shirley drawing assists.
The Bombers kept pace in a fast third period. After Portage went ahead 4–3, Kowalski responded just over a minute later, making it 4–4 with help from Tyler Campbell and Shirley.
In overtime, Morden needed just 1:52 to finish the comeback. Clark, who led the Bombers with two goals and two assists, jumped on a feed from Kowalski and Jory Mullin to score the game-winner.
Goaltender Aaron Brunn backstopped the victory with a 36-save performance, earning the win in 65 minutes of work.
The Bombers look to keep rolling when they visit Notre Dame on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m.
The Red River Wild book-ended their week with a strong offensive showing followed by a tight defensive battle, defeating the Île des Chênes Northstars earlier in the week before falling 2–1 in overtime to the league-leading Winkler Royals on Nov. 30.
Red River opened the week on a high note with a 7–5 win over Île des Chênes, driven by a Brendan Harms hat trick and a surge of scoring across all three periods. Tyler Anderson opened the scoring on a power play at 5:41 of the first, assisted by Justin Baudry and Jonah Wasylak, before the Northstars answered with two straight from captain Tyler Swerdyliak — the second on the man advantage — to take a 2–1 lead into the intermission.
The Wild responded quickly in the second. Wasylak tied the game on a penalty shot at 3:38, and less than a minute later Robert Guimond put Red River back in front. Île des Chênes briefly made it 3–3 at 4:56, but the Wild regained control with Baudry’s goal at 13:03 and Harms’ first of the night at 19:18 to carry a 5–3 lead into the dressing room.
Red River added insurance in the third when Austin Gilmore scored the eventual game-winner at 12:41 off a feed from Troy Lehmann and Teagan Fillion. Harms struck again 45 seconds later to make it 7–3 before the Northstars pushed back with two late goals. Harms sealed the win with an empty-netter at 19:33 to complete the hat trick. The game featured heavy special-teams play and multiple misconducts during a chippy second period.
The week ended with a far different tone as the Wild dropped a 2–1 overtime decision to Winkler on Sunday. After falling behind in the second period, Red River tied the game at 9:53 of the third when Anderson buried a feed from Baudry. Overtime ended quickly, however, with the Royals scoring at 4:12. Jayden Catellier kept the Wild in it throughout, finishing with 32 saves.
With one win and one overtime loss on the week, Red River now holds a 4-2-1 record for 9 points, sitting fourth in the SEMHL behind Winkler, Morden and Springfield. The Wild have scored 39 goals and allowed 33 through seven games. The club remains winless at home at 0-1-1, but continues to be one of the league’s strongest road teams at 4-1-0.
Red River hosts the Morden Bombers on Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.
