Pre-season continues for Neepawa Natives
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- Published on Monday, September 17, 2018
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
The exhibition schedule is nearly finished for the Neepawa Natives.
As of the Banner & Press publication deadline of Wednesday Sept. 12, the MJHL club had played four of their six pre-season contests. The team was 2-2-0 in those games, defeating Waywayseecappo and Portage, but losing a pair to Winker. Neepawa’s first game was on Sept. 4 and saw them lose in Winkler 3-0.
Neepawa 5-4 Waywayseecappo
Three goals late in the third period powered the Neepawa Natives to the 5-4 win over Waywayseecappo. New arrivals Jordan Rogers, Clay Ellerbrock and Nathan Driver all scored in the final 10:53 of regulation to secure the victory. Bradley Marshall and Brady Whitely scored in the second period for Neepawa.
Neepawa 6-5 OT Portage
It was another late game comeback for Neepawa on the way to a 6-5 win in overtime over the Portage Terriers on Saturday, Sept. 8. Trailing 5-3 with 11:54 left in regulation, Bradley Marshall scored twice on a pair of power-play chances to send the game into OT. Michael Boutoussov then notched the game winner, to go along with three assists.
Winkler 1-0 Neepawa
The first home game of the preseason for the Neepawa Natives did not go as planned, as the team was blanked by the Winkler Flyers 1-0. The lone goal of the game came of the blade off Jayden McCarthy just 3:16 into the opening period. That was a power-play goal for the Flyers.
While Neepawa would put the pressure on Winkler goaltender Aaron Brunn throughout the rest of the game, they were unable to find the back of the net. Brunn closed out the night with 30 saves.
The loss dropped Neepawa’s preseason record to 2-2-0, with two game remaining. The first of that pair was played Wednesday, Sept 12 against Waywayseecappo. The results of that contest were unavailable before the Banner & Press publication deadline. Neepawa’s final preseason tilt will take place on Saturday, Sept. 15, when the team hosts the Portage Terriers. Game time at the Yellowhead Centre is set for 7:30 p.m.
