The Winkler Flyers have moved into first place in the MJHL East Division, with two games in hand over their nearest competitors.
The advance in the standings came after a pair of wins over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines and the Virden Oil Capitals this past week.
Last Tuesday’s game on the road against the Wolverines saw the Flyers keep a firm hand on things through two periods, up 4-1 thanks to first-period goals from Liam Carlone, Jayce Legaarden, and Andrew Morton and a second-period marker from Brody Beauchemin.
Beauchemin added two more goals in the final period while Dustin Bell made it seven in all for Winkler, while Waywayseecappo managed to get three past netminder Liam Ernst in a failed attempt to close the gap. The win went to Winkler 7-4.
Friday’s scheduled game against Dauphin was postponed due to the blizzard, but the roads cleared by Sunday for the Flyers to host the Virden Oil Capitals.
Ernst gave up just one goal off the 20 shots he faced that night, while his teammates fired 29 the other way, making good on four of them, all in the third period. Legaarden scored two of those while Isaiah Peters and Morton added singles in the 4-1 win.
With that, Winkler’s record stands at 28-6-2 for 58 points, which puts them one point up on the second-place Steinbach Pistons, who have played 38 games to the Flyers’ 36. Rounding out the top three are the Portage Terriers in third place with 55 points in 38 games.
This week Winkler was in Neepawa Tuesday to play the Titans. Results were not available at press time.
The weekend sees the team host the Northern Manitoba Blizzard Friday and Saturday.
Next week, 10 Flyers and coach Coltyn Bates will head to the MJHL-SJHL Showcase taking place in Winnipeg Jan. 28-29.
The 20U Red team will feature Brody Beauchemin, Brady Craik, Niklas Gudmundson, Jayce Legaarden, Nicholas McKee, Will Brophy, Blake Matheson, Isaiah Peters, and Liam Ernst. Max Lavoie will suit up for the 18U White team.
Bates, meanwhile, will be behind the bench for 20U Red.
