The Pembina Valley Twisters opened their Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League season with a pair of tough road losses over the weekend, falling 3–2 to the River East Royal Knights on Friday night and 6–0 to the Raiders Jr. Hockey Club on Sunday afternoon.
Friday’s matchup at Terry Sawchuk Arena saw the Twisters push the undefeated Royal Knights to the wire. Pembina Valley’s Ketema Wall and Josh Guilford supplied the offence, while goaltender Rowan Cherkas turned in a standout 39-save performance in a losing effort.
After River East jumped out to a 2–1 first-period lead, Guilford tied the game late in the second with help from Cohen Thomas, setting up a tense final frame. But the Knights’ Cody Allen broke the deadlock at 16:27 of the third to secure the win.
Cherkas’ efforts earned him third-star honours behind River East’s Allen and goaltender Keaton Woloshen, who stopped 22 of 24 shots.
Two days later, the Twisters ran into a red-hot Raiders squad at Seven Oaks SportsPlex, where they were shut out 6–0. Pembina Valley struggled to generate chances, managing just 13 shots on goal compared to 42 for the home side.
Raiders forwards Lucas Desousa and Carter Andersson each had multi-point games, combining for three goals and four assists. Cole Kennedy, Owen Lourenco, and Ashton Henry also found the back of the net, while goaltender Braeden Martell stopped every shot he faced for the shutout.
Cherkas was again busy between the pipes for the Twisters, turning aside 36 shots in the loss.
The results drop Pembina Valley to 0-2-0 on the young season, while River East and Raiders improved their early records to 2-0-0 and 1-1-0, respectively.
The Twisters will look to regroup when they return home for their season opener on Friday, Oct. 10, hosting the Transcona Railer Express at 8:30 p.m. at the Morris MultiPlex.
