Peyton Bateman continued his league-leading season Friday night, scoring twice as the Stonewall Jets edged the River East Royal Knights 4–3 in Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League action at Terry Sawchuk Arena.
Bateman’s two-goal performance pushed his season totals to 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points in 30 games, keeping him atop the MMJHL scoring race. Teammate Gavin Holod sits close behind with 55 points, while St. James forward Jayden Ward ranks third with 54.
The victory improved Stonewall’s record to 21-13-1 and strengthened the Jets’ hold on third place in the league standings with 43 points, as the club continues to jockey for playoff positioning.
River East opened the scoring midway through the first period on a Nick Giasson goal, then added a shorthanded marker later in the frame to take a 2–0 lead. Stonewall responded late in the period when Kai Smith converted on the power play at 17:35 to cut the deficit in half.
Bateman tied the game early in the second period, scoring on the power play at 15:06 off feeds from Karson King and Wylie Garchinski. River East briefly regained the lead later in the period on a Nolan Fielding goal, but Stonewall took control in the third.
Holod evened the score at 9:37 of the final frame, finishing a play set up by Garchinski and Bateman. Less than a minute later, Bateman struck again with his second power-play goal of the night, giving the Jets their first lead of the game at 10:29.
Stonewall outshot River East 41–30, with Spencer Hunnam earning the win in goal after stopping 27 shots. Kyle Beilman made 37 saves in the loss for the Royal Knights.
The Jets went 2-for-5 on the power play, while River East did not register a power-play goal.
With the win, Stonewall improved to 3-1 against River East in the season series. The teams will meet once more during the regular season on March 5 in Stonewall.
The Jets host the Raiders Jr. Hockey Club on Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. before travelling to face the St. Boniface Riels on Feb. 15 at 3 p.m.
