Neepawa Farmers just keep winning
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, January 17, 2017
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
It’s been nearly two months since the Neepawa Farmers last felt the sting of defeat in a Tiger Hills Hockey League (THHL) game. The team has steamrolled their opposition since mid-November, on the way to nine straight wins and an 11-4-0 record. Those results have catapulted the team into first place in the THHL eastern division.
The Farmers latest triumph was a 4-1 win at home over the Souris Elks on Saturday, Jan. 14. Kyle McDonald, Nolan Speiss, Lance Nugent and Garett Rempel all scored for Neepawa in the win.
The game against Souris came on the heels of an important victory over a divisional rival, the Gladstone Lakers, on Wednesday, Jan. 11. A six goal effort in the final 20 minutes of regulation, pushed the Farmers to an impressive 10-2 decision over the Lakers. Though the final score was lopsided, the early portion of the game was a tightly played struggle with neither team giving an inch.
After establishing a 2-1 lead after the first, with goals from Lance Nugent and Kyle McDonald, the Farmers were able to create some separation in the second with a pair of goals. Ryan Menei secured a goal just 36 seconds into the middle frame. Then near the mid-point of the game, Nugent put away his second of the night making it 4-1 Neepawa.
In the third period, the figurative flood gates broke open for the Farmers, as they scored six times. Matt Lowry, Riley Kolesar and Nolan Speiss started things off quickly, all scoring within 2:40 of the start of the period. After a Gladstone goal, Neepawa once again replied with three in quick succession. Menei potted a pair, giving him a hat trick on the scoresheet, followed up by a late one from Bret Levandoski to give Neepawa the 10-2 win.
With just three games remaining in the regular season, Neepawa has a two point lead over the Minnedosa Bombers. While the Bombers do have a game in hand, the Farmers have won the season series, ensuring control of the tie-breaker in the standings. The final home game of the regular season for the Farmers will be on Saturday, Jan. 21 against the Pilot Mound Pilots. They’ll follow that up with a pair of road games, first against MacGregor on Friday, Jan. 27. The following night, they’ll head down to Killarney to play the Shamrocks.
