Neepawa hosts Keith Jordan Memorial tournament

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Published on Monday, November 21, 2016

Photos by Eoin Devereux. Midget Natives goaltender Sadie MacIntosh keeps her eye on the puck, as it sails past the net.

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner

Some of the top female teams in bantam and midget hockey assembled in Neepawa this past weekend for the second annual Keith Jordan Memorial Tournament. The event, which is named after the well respected local minor hockey official, who passed away in 2015, featured teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Neepawa was represented by the Natives Bantam and Midget girls squads. In the Bantam category, a team from Regina claimed the banner, defeating Carman 5-0 in the championship game, while a club from Birtle/Hamiota blanked Melita 3-0 in the Midget final. As for Neepawa, their results were as follows:

Weyburn 3-0 Neepawa Bantams

A pair of early power-play goals helped the Weyburn Wings to top the Neepawa Natives Bantam team 3-0. The game, played early on Friday, Nov. 18, was the first of the tournament for both clubs. While each side wanted to set the tone early, it was the Wings who were successful in that effort, putting a lot of early pressure on Neepawa’s blue liners and goaltender Juliann Kelly. That pressure ultimately forced Neepawa into some penalty problems, which Weyburn took full advantage of. First, Mikki McFadden scored at the 10:06 mark, while Neepawa attempted to kill off a tripping penalty. A few minutes later, at 7:27, Dakota Bowler doubled the Wings’ lead, as Neepawa was in the box for a hooking minor. Those goals provided Weyburn with a 2-0 lead after the first period. With 13:13 left in the second period,  Weyburn’s Macy Cugnet put away a shot to secure a 3-0 victory.  

Cameron Parrott (16) advances the puck into the Melita zone. 

Neepawa Midgets 3-3 Melita

A strong effort from both teams ended up solving nothing, as the Neepawa Natives Midget team and the Melita Bisons ended up gridlocked at 3-3. Melita opened up the scoring with 7:56 left in the first, as Shelby Vanbeselaere came into the Neepawa zone on the goaltender Sadie MacIntosh’s glove side. She then wired a shot over MacIntosh’s shoulder and into the net for the 1-0 lead.

In the second, Neepawa came out aggressively and created several offensive opportunities. Those efforts eventually paid off, as at 12:17, Bergen Hayward powered one into the Bisons’ goal, tying things at 1-1. 

Melita reclaimed the lead with just under five minutes remaining in the second and appeared to be heading into the third with the one goal advantage. A puck miscue, however, created a chance for Neepawa’s Mykayla Kohlman on a partial breakaway. With just 2.7 seconds on the clock and a Melita defender on her back, Kohlman notched an exceptional unassisted goal, to once again tie the game. 

For the final period of regulation, both teams traded goals, insuring that this the match-up would end as a tie.

Carman 3-1 Neepawa Bantams

The first day of the tournament ended on a negative note for the Bantam girls team, as they were stymied by Carman 3-1. Carman notched the first three goals of the game, keeping Neepawa’s offensive efforts at bay for most of the first two periods. It wasn’t until there was 6:21 remaining in regulation, that the Natives Bantams were able to hit the back of the net, as Emily Shewfelt put away an unassisted marker.

Neepawa Bantams 10-1 Warren

A breakthrough for Neepawa’s offensive woes on Saturday, Nov. 19, as the Bantam Natives dominated Warren by the score of 10-1. Lainie Muir and Emma Gamache lead the way for the team with a pair of goals each. Jessica Wither, meanwhile, was the top scorer for Neepawa, with a goal and pair of assists.

Neepawa Midgets 5-2 Rock Lake

The final game of the round robin portion of the tournament proved to be a real confidence builder for Neepawa’s Midget Natives, as they toppled Rock Lake 5-2. Neepawa took control of the game right from the opening face-off, asserting dominance upon their opponent. That superior level of play paid off with a pair of quick goals from Rachel Street and Paige Crook respectively. Rock Lake answered back before the end of the first, to make it a 2-1 score.

The Midget Natives, however, simply brushed that goal off and answered back before the end of the first with two more of their own. That made it 4-1 for the host squad after the first stanza. Bergen Hayward and Grace Birnie picked up those goals for Neepawa.

One more goal in the second by Juliana Davis capped off the scoring for Neepawa, as the final score ended up 5-2 for the Natives.

Neepawa Bantam goaltender Juliann Kelly makes a sprawling save against the Regina player, during the Natives round robin game on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Regina 6-1 Neepawa Bantams

Penalties once again proved to be the undoing of the Neepawa Bantams, as they surrendered a pair of power-play goals in their 6-1 loss to Regina. On top of that, Neepawa had to kill off several other penalties, which stymied any type of momentum they tried to generate. Jaida Chartrand scored the only goal for the Neepawa Bantam Natives in this last round robin game of the weekend.

Rock Lake 2-1 (SO) Neepawa Midgets

It was a close game between Neepawa and Rock Lake in the consolation final, with a shootout needed to decide a winner. After three rounds, it was the Rock Lake Stars who captured the victory by a 2-1 margin. Cameron Parrott netted the lone goal for Neepawa, with 5:03 remaining in regulation. The five minute overtime session solved nothing, though in the shootout, Rock Lake scored on two of its three attempts, while Neepawa was blanked in their efforts.

Neepawa Bantams 4-0 Weyburn

Neepawa’s Bantam Natives ended the weekend tournament with a big win over Weyburn, blanking the Wings 4-0. Juliann Kelly picked up the shutout, while Cheyenne Davie scored what would ultimately be the game winning goal for Neepawa. Jana McTavish, Emma Gamache and Emmalie Thompson scored the other goals for the Bantam Natives squad.