The rival Morden and Winkler teams went head-to-head in South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League action last week, and it was the Bombers who came out on top.
The Tuesday night game in Winkler was a high-scoring affair, with both teams lighting up the net in all three periods.
Winkler was up 3-1 after 20 minutes thanks to goals from Justin Augert and Aaron Lewadniuk. Collin Shirley scored for Morden.
Goals from Logan Christensen, Tyler Peers, Shirley, and Jay Fehr swung things the other way, giving the Bombers a 5-3 lead in the second. Phil Letkeman sandwiched in Winkler’s third goal midway through the period.
Augert scored the Royals’ last goal of the night early in the third, making it 5-4. Winkler yanked their goalie in the final minutes in a bid to close the gap, but it backfired, allowing Morden to add two more, courtesy of Logan Christensen and Keane Boucher, to take the game 7-4.
Reed Peters turned away 39 shots on net for Morden while Jayme Janzen denied 38 between the posts for the Royals.
Morden went on to defeat the Ile Des Chenes Northstars Friday night on the road 4-3. Colin Hildebrand, Derek Wiebe, Peers, and Christensen scored. Peters made 32 saves in net.
The Royals, meanwhile, got a win against the Islanders in Portage Sunday.
Lewadniuk had a two-goal night while Mitch Dyck and Marcus Neufeld contributed singles in the 4-2 victory. Matthew Thiessen was in net this game and made 41 saves.
In other local SEMHL action, the Red River Wild downed Carman 3-2 Wednesday and then fell to the first-place Ste. Anne Aces 2-1 Friday.
The Carman game was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes thanks to Wild goals from Tyler Anderson and TJ Matuszewski. Justin Baudry got what proved to be the game winner 15 minutes into the third. Carter Lemay made 32 saves in net for Red River that night.
Two nights later, Geordie Keane got the Wild’s lone goal, scored between two from the Aces in the second period. Jayden Catellier made 47 saves in goal for the Wild.
Red River stands tall in second place in the standings with a record of 11-5-1 and 23 points, trailing the Aces in first by seven points.
Morden is in fourth place at 10-5 for 20 points, while Winkler is in seventh at 8-7-1-1 for 18.
The final games of the regular season take place this week, with Morden hosting Notre Dame Thursday and then playing in Ste. Anne Saturday, Red River at Springfield Friday, and Winkler in Springfield Saturday night.
