The Winkler Flyers were flying high on a three-game shutout win streak over the past week.
It began last Tuesday with a 3-0 blanking of the visiting Selkirk Steelers.
Liam Ernst was a wall between the posts for Winkler, making 27 saves. His teammates fired 37 the other way, scoring in each period (Kam Thomas in the first, Brody Beauchemin in the second, and Jayce Lagaarden in the third).
The Flyers did the same a few nights later on the road in Portage against the Terriers. Brady Craik had a two-goal night while Beauchemin contributed a single in the 3-0 victory, which saw Ernst make 18 saves as Winkler outshot Portage 36-18.
They rounded things out with one more 3-0 win, this time against the Nighthawks in Niverville Sunday night.
Shots on goal were 24-21 for Winkler, with Ernst once again going the distance. Scoring for the Flyers was Ethan MacTavish with one and Jayce Legaarden with two.
With that, Winkler hangs onto second place in the MGEU East Division standings with a record of 20-6-2 and 42 points. They trail the Pistons in first place by five points and are tied in points with the third-place Terriers, but have a games in hand over both of them.
The Flyers close out 2024 with two games this week, hosting the Winnipeg Freeze Tuesday night and the Pistons Friday.
After the holidays they kick off 2025 with home games against Niverville and Neepawa Jan. 5 and Jan. 7.
In other Flyers news, the team announced Friday is has signed goaltender Leif Ekblad (2005).
“We are extremely excited about the addition of Leif,” said head coach and general manager Matt Melo. “Leif joins us having experience in the NAHL and the OJHL. He is an extremely big presence and will solidify our one-two punch in the net. We are excited about the untapped potential in his game.”
