It was a week of mixed results for the Winkler Flyers as they downed one team below them in the standings but then were handed losses by two above them.
Last Tuesday the fourth-place Flyers squared off against the second-place Steinbach Pistons.
Niklas Gudmundson got Winkler’s lone goal of the night, tying the game at 1-1 midway through the second period. But the Pistons retook the lead minutes later and then fired home the final nail in the coffin on an empty net late in the third to take it 3-1.
Liam Ernst made 24 saves off 26 shots before he was pulled for the extra man. His teammates sent 38 the other way.
Winkler’s offensive lines had a better go of it a few nights later in Winnipeg against the Blues, who are in second last place in the MGEU East Division.
Goals from Riley Fequet and Tanner George at both ends of the first had Winkler up 2-0 after 20 minutes. William Lyons made it 3-1 midway through the second before the Blues finally got themselves on the board. Kam Thomas rounded things out with Winkler’s fourth of the night in the third, giving the Flyers the win 4-1.
The Flyers once again dominated the shots battle, this time 49-24, with Ernst making 23 saves.
The next night they found themselves in Portage facing off against the third-place Terriers.
The back-and-forth game saw the home team up 3-2 after 20 minutes, with Winkler’s goals coming courtesy of Fequet and Lyons.
Period two saw Portage grow their lead by one midway through, though a goal by Ethan MacTavish with minutes left before the buzzer kept Winkler within one of tying.
Two more Portage goals widened that gap 6-3 in the third, and while MacTavish and Fequet did their best to close it in the final five minutes of the night, the Flyers couldn’t get the tying goal to force overtime, giving the win to the Terriers 6-5.
Ernst was between the posts again, making 30 saves off 36 shots. Winkler had 33 shots on goal.
At press time, Winkler remained in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 23-16-1-2 and 49 points. They trail the first-place Niverville Nighthawks (who have clinched their playoff spot already) by a full 28 points, Steinbach in second by 17 points, and Portage in third by six. Ten points behind the Flyers in fifth place are the Selkirk Steelers.
This week the Flyers hosted the Blues Tuesday (results were not available at press time) and welcome Niverville Friday and Swan Valley Saturday.
