Opening weekend of the MJHL’s round two playoff matchups have come and gone in a flash.
Featuring the Dauphin Kings/Winkler Flyers & Steinbach Pistons/Virden Oil Capitals, all four games came down to the wire including an overtime thriller between the Pistons and Oil Capitals.
Kings lead best-of-seven series 2-0
Game 1: Winkler (2) @ Dauphin (4)
Game 2: Winkler (1) @ Dauphin (3)
Game 3: Dauphin @ Winkler – Wednesday, April 20 @ 7:00PM
Game 4: Dauphin @ Winkler – Thursday, April 21 @ 7:00PM
Team Leaders
D – Parker Malchuk (DAU) 7GP | 2G | 10A | 12PTS
G – Carson Cherepak (DAU) 6-1-1 | 2.34GAA | .918SV%
F – Justin Svenson (WKF) 8GP | 6G | 6A | 12PTS
G – Dylan Meilun (WKF) 4-4 | 2.63GAA | .902SV%
Series notes: In the series opener it was the Dauphin Kings who got off to an ideal start on home ice. After Nakodan Greyeyes and Kyle Crewe each scored for their respective teams, trade acquisition, Logan Calder gave the Kings a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the first. After a scoreless second period, Flyers forward, Ryan Monias beat Carson Cherepak to tie the game up at 2-2 just 1:08 into the final twenty minutes. It didn’t take much time for the Kings to respond after Mathew Rathbone scored 19 seconds later off a quick play from the draw. The Flyers would push but Dauphin would add an empty netter to seal game one, taking a 1-0 series lead. Dauphin stormed out of the gate in game two and outshot Winkler 21-5 in the first with Ben Hackl creating a turnover and finding the back of the net off a nice shot to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Justin Svenson’s tied the game at 1-1 with his powerplay blast from the point. Once again, the Kings found a response from the stick of Mathew Rathbone when his quick shot beat Dylan Meilun 1:10 after Svenson tied the game. In the third, Dauphin did a strong job of defending their net, limiting the Flyers to just 7 shots before Kaden Bryant scored on the empty net for the second straight game to give the Kings a 2-0 series lead.
Best-of-seven series tied 1-1
Game 1: Virden (4) @ Steinbach (5) – 1OT
Game 2: Virden (4) @ Steinbach (2)
Game 3: Steinbach @ Virden – Wednesday, April 20 @ 7:30PM
Game 4: Steinbach @ Virden – Thursday, April 21 @ 7:30PM
Team Leaders
F – Zach Power (STP) 7GP | 6A | 8A | 14PTS
G – Will Hambley (STP) 5-2 | 3.01GAA | .892SV%
F – Braden Fischer (VOC) 6GP | 7G | 2A | 9PTS
G – Bailey Monteith (VOC) 5-0-1 | 3.09GAA | .912SV%
Series notes: In game one it took a period for both teams to feel each other out before an eventful 2nd period that saw three different lead changes and the Pistons holding a 3-2 lead going into the final 20 minutes. After Braden Fischer scored twice in under a minute to give himself a hat-trick and the team a 4-3 lead, Langley Kruggel tied the game with just over four minutes left that would send game one to overtime. 24 seconds in, Quinton Pepper scored to give the Pistons a 1-0 series lead. Game two was equally as tight as the opener with Steinbach scoring in the opening minute and Virden scoring in the closing minute to end the first period locked at 1-1. Braden Fischer scored the lone goal early on in the second period that would prove to be the game winner. The two teams exchanged goals early in the third before Beau Larson restored the Oil Caps’ two-goal lead which would stand to give Virden a 4-2 win, helping tie the series at 1-1.
