The Neepawa Natives; A tale of two teams

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Published on Thursday, October 20, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

*Editors note: This article was completed before the Wednesday, Oct. 19 game vs. the Virden Oil Capitals, so it excludes those results. A separate story on that game will be posted later today.

Neepawa’s  schedule for the week began on Friday, Oct. 14, versus the Winkler Flyers. A five point night (Two goals - three assists) from Flyers forward Scott Gall, would lead Winkler to an impressive 7-3 win. That was the third win for the Flyers over the Natives thus far this season.

Winkler opened the scoring early, when Braden Billaney scored just 1:24 into the game. A Matt Christian power-play goal near the end of the first provided Winkler with a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

In the second, Coltyn Bates made it 3-0 just over six and a half minutes into the period. Neepawa finally responded just over a minute later, when John McCammon scored his first of the year to cut Winkler’s lead to 3-1. By the mid-point of the game, however, Winkler found the back of the net once again, as Gino Lucia scored to push the Flyers lead back to three.

The second period would end early for both teams, after Flyers forward Matt Christian was struck in the face with the puck. That would cause a delay in the game and the decision to clear the ice, then play the final 90 seconds of the second, followed immediately by the start of the third.

After the two teams returned to the ice and played the remaining minute and a half of the second period, the Flyers held on to a comfortable 4-1 lead on the scoreboard and a 31-11 advantage in shots on goal.

John McCammon earned his second of the game and the season at the 5:41 mark, to bring the Natives to within two goals, but Winkler reclaimed its three goal cushion a little over a minute later with a Tyler Jubenvill point shot. Scott Gall followed that up with a power-play goal to make it 6-2. McCammon notched a natural hat-trick before the end of the game, with just three minutes left in regulation. With 1:22 remaining, Scott Gall finished off his impressive night with his second goal and fifth point of the game, making the final score 7-3 for the Flyers. Winkler would outshoot Neepawa 45-22.

After the game, Natives head coach Dustin Howden said this was one of the most disappointing performances by the team all year.

“Coming into [the Friday, Oct. 14] game, we thought that this group were rested, healthy and well prepared. The week of practices went well, but for whatever reason, it didn’t translate out there on the ice when it mattered. As a coaching staff, we’re not pleased with what we saw,” noted Howden. “It’s getting to be that time, where if [the players] are not working hard and breaking some of the bad habits within their game, then we have to look for someone else to do that job.”

After a few days to stew over what was and more importantly, what wasn’t accomplished out on the ice against Winkler, Neepawa travelled to Selkirk to play the Steelers. In the opening period, Neepawa found itself dealing with a deficit early, as Selkirk’s Nathan Halvorson scored just over five minutes into regulation, to give the Steelers the 1-0 lead. Liam Kroeker added to the lead just before the end of the period, with his second goal of the season. Mid-way through the second, Carter Barley notched another goal for Selkirk, giving the home side a 3-0 lead. At that point, it could have been very easy for the Neepawa bench to just say to themselves ‘It’s not our night,’ and coast the rest of the way to another defeat. The team, however, decided on another option; play the full 60 and prove they can compete with any team in the MJHL. So that’s exactly what they did and then some.

The comeback began with Nolan Richard scoring late in the second to make it 3-1 Steelers after 40 minutes. 

Then in the final frame, Neepawa and Selkirk traded chances, but it was the Natives who took advantage of those opportunities. First Justin Metcalf scored his sixth of the year, in an unassisted effort at the 9:17 mark. Following that, Neepawa pressed hard for the equalizer. That hard work paid off with just 2:04 left in the game, as Nolan Richards picked up his second of the night to tie things up at 3-3.

The five minute overtime session solved nothing, so the clubs shifted their attention to the shootout. Neepawa’s players did their job, as Jordan Martin and Ashton Anderson both found the back of the net. After, stopping the first shot he faced, Neepawa goaltender Jeremy Link was able to shut down the third shooter for Selkirk and secure the come from behind win.

Neepawa head coach Dustin Howden noted that this was the type of effort he wanted to see from his team. 

“We played a solid sixty minutes out there. It didn’t begin like we hoped, but that wasn’t due to a lack of effort on our part,” he noted. “What was very important as well, was that despite falling behind 3-0, the players didn’t feel like they were out of it. There was still confidence that as long as they played intelligent hockey they could make their way back into [the game]. As a coach, this is exactly the type of grit and determination you like to see from your players. [The coaching staff] is very proud of the team. This is the type of win you can build off of.”

After a slow start to the year, Neepawa is now 3-3 in its last six games, as of Oct. 19.*

Neepawa will now face the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Yellowhead Centre. Game time is set for 7:30 pm. The Natives then travel to Virden on Saturday, Oct. 22 to challenge the Oil Capitals.