Pistons outpace Neepawa
- Details
- Published on Thursday, November 24, 2016
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
A pair of fights seemed to be the only spark seen from the Neepawa Natives on Wednesday, Nov. 23, in their 5-2 loss to the Steinbach Pistons. Forwards Brad Marshall and Riley Vautour each dropped the gloves for Neepawa in separate shuffles. Other than those pair of scraps, there were not many other highlights for the Natives against the MJHL’s top team.
The Pistons took the lead early, as Jordan Bochinski scored just 3:46 into the first period. Mackenzie Graham would then put the Pistons up by a pair late in the first.
In the second, Neepawa seemed to wake up after Brad Marshall challenged Pistons defenceman Ryan Carlson to a fight. Both players ended up getting the rest of the night off as they earned five for fighting and game misconducts. That tussle sparked Neepawa as the Natives picked up their first goal of the game a few minutes later, when Ashton Anderson secured his fifth goal and 18th point of the season. Griffin Chwaliboga and Brett Namaka, who was in the Natives line-up due to recent injuries, assisted on the play. That cut Steinbach’s lead to a lone goal, as the action shifted into the third period.
With 8:13 left in the third, the Natives tied the game on a Reigan Buchanan effort. That play was assisted by Justin Metcalf and Chwaliboga. Unfortunately, that goal seemed to motivate the Pistons more than the Natives, as the visiting side kicked it into another gear, regaining the lead 1:42 later on Bochinski’s second of the game.
The next bit of excitement would feature another fight, this time between Neepawa’s Riley Vautour and Max Cavallini of the Pistons. Both players received fighting majors and game misconducts. A little under a minutes after that battle, Steinbach’s Mackenzie Graham put away his second goal of the game, giving the Pistons the 4-2 advantage. Bradley Schoonbaert would put the figurative exclamation point on the evening with a goal with just 17 seconds remaining in regulation, making it a 5-2 final for Steinbach.
Although Evan Robert had a solid night between the pipes for Neepawa with 30 saves, he picked up the loss. Steinbach’s Roman Bengert, meanwhile, registered the win on a 20 save performance. Neepawa’s power-play went 0-for-4 on the night, while Steinbach went 0-for-2. Neepawa will hope to bounce back from this defeat with a home game on Friday, Nov. 25 versus the Virden Oil Capitals. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m at the Yellowhead Centre.
