Offence remains a concern for Neepawa
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- Published on Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Justin Metcalf (11) leads the Neepawa Natives in goals this season with nine. That’s just over 19 per cent of the club’s total goals over the first 20 games.
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Despite their best efforts, scoring consistency continues to be a problem for the Neepawa Natives. In their past eight games, the MJHL club has been held to a single goal or less on five separate occasions, resulting in a 1-7-0 record. While the latest result was a 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Blues on Sunday, Nov. 13, that game’s offensive output has become the exception as opposed to the rule.
Neepawa head coach Dustin Howden said the lack of offence is not due to a lack of effort. He noted that the players are working very hard on creating opportunities.
“The effort was there. We had a very good game against the Winnipeg Blues. We had opportunities, played a smart game out on the ice and didn’t take any unnecessary penalties. [The final score] was the only negative to take away from that. We’re a team that’s creating opportunities, but not capitalizing on them,” said Howden. “Our work ethic has been exceptional. It’s just the offensive output is not where it could be. Some of that falls to bad luck. A few shots ringing off the post, a few pucks bouncing off the blade at inopportune times. We simply have to get past that and start executing in the way that I know [the players] can.”
Howden added that despite the recent rough stretch, the coaching and management are remaining optimistic, as there are still 40 games remaining in the regular season. He added though, that while Neepawa remains in the playoff hunt they can’t allow opportunities for points, both on the ice and in the standings, to slip through their fingers.
“[As of Monday, Nov. 14.] we’re in ninth place in the league. Something that we’ve stressed all along is that you don’t want to let points get away from you. But unfortunately, that has happened on occasion. Sunday against Winnipeg for example, as well as a couple other times earlier in the year. At the end of the season, you hope that it doesn’t come back to haunt you. Right now, we’re two points out of a playoff spot, so we must take the opportunities that are presented to us and take full advantage.”
Neepawa’s next opportunity to move up in the MJHL standings is this weekend with a pair of games against the OCN Blizzard. The first contest is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 pm. The following night, those two squad will face off once again at the Yellowhead Centre, this time with a 6:30 pm start time.
