Photo: Todd Pederson
(+1) 1st – Virden Oil Capitals
This Week: 2-0
Overall: 19-5-2-2
Impressive Player: Trevor Hunt – 1 goal, 2 assists in 2 games
Starting to build some space between themselves and the rest of the MGEU West Division. Scored the third most goals in the MJHL with 107. Heading into the new year, if their 5th ranked power play and 9th ranked penalty kill can take a step, they’ll really be hard for any team to catch.
Up Next: Dec. 15th vs Swan Valley, Dec. 19th vs Winkler, Christmas Break
(+2) 2nd – OCN Blizzard
This Week: 2-0
Overall: 17-10-0-2
Impressive Player: Sam Zagari – 3 goals, 2 assists in 2 games
Winners of four straight, all of which were road games have the Blizzard feeling confident they will not just hang around but can overtake the top spot in the MGEU West. They don’t care how or how long it takes, they’ll fight and claw for each point as an entire team.
Up Next: Dec. 15th vs Waywayseecappo, Dec. 17th vs Neepawa, Dec. 19th @ Waywayseecappo, Christmas Break
(+2) 3rd – Winkler Flyers
This Week: 2-0-1
Overall: 19-3-1-2
Impressive Player: Trent Penner – 4 goals, 3 assists in 3 games
Points in 5 straight, plus games in hand mean the Flyers control their own future. Tied for the best goal differential in the MJHL. Adding a big-time scoring threat lengthens an already deep lineup to the point where other teams must decide where it is best to put focus, leaving others to hunt freely.
Up Next: Dec. 15th vs Niverville, Dec. 16th vs Dauphin, Dec. 19th @ Virden, Dec. 20th vs Steinbach, Christmas Break
(+2) 4th – Neepawa Titans
This Week: 1-0
Overall: 15-13-1
Impressive Player: KC Couckuyt – 1 win, 39 saves on 42 shots
Proving they have the scoring to get the job done on a nightly basis, the Titans have built a moat between themselves and the number 5 spot in the division. While their goal differential is 8th among current playoff teams, their 100 goals is 2nd in their division and 5th among teams in playoff spots.
Up Next: Dec. 16th @ Swan Valley, Dec. 17th @ Blizzard, Christmas Break
(-4) 5th – Portage Terriers
This Week: 2-1
Overall: 19-7-3-2
Impressive Player: Daniel Siso – 2 goals, 3 assists in 3 games
Good teams respond after bad outings. For Portage, after getting served on the road, they’ve bounced back and scored 10 goals combined over two wins. They’ve played the most games in the league to this point, but their .694 winning percentage is 4th overall in the MJHL. Also 2nd in goals scored with 109.
Up Next: Dec. 14th @ WPG Freeze, Dec. 15th @ WPG Blues, Dec. 19th @ Selkirk, Dec. 20th @ Niverville, Christmas Break
(-3) 6th – Steinbach Pistons
This Week: 1-1-1
Overall: 21-4-2
Impressive Player: Brayden Berg – 2 goals, 2 assists in 3 games
Every team will face adversity and for Steinbach, the times might be tough but they’re still grinding out points. Leading the league in wins with 21 and in goals with 114. The team also runs out the leagues 2nd ranked power play and number 1 ranked penalty killing units. Some work to do before a needed break.
Up Next: Dec. 13th vs Niverville, Dec. 15th vs WPG Freeze, Dec. 16th vs WPG Blues, Dec. 20th vs Winkler, Christmas Break
(+3) 7th – Niverville Nighthawks
This Week: 2-1
Overall: 17-11-1
Impressive Player: Kaycee Coyle – 1 goal, 3 assists in 3 games
Having built a buffer between themselves and 5th place in the MGEU East Division, they have earned time to find consistent ways of getting offence. Looking to build momentum for 2024. Need to find the line between being physical and taking too many penalties, even though the killing units are quite good.
Up Next: Dec. 13th @ Steinbach, Dec. 15th vs Winkler, Dec. 16th @ Selkirk, Dec. 20th vs Portage, Christmas Break
(-1) 8th – Dauphin Kings
This Week: 1-1
Overall: 16-9-1
Impressive Player: Rylan Gibbs – 1 goal, 2 assists in 2 games
Slowly sliding down the MGEU West Division standings but still lots of games left to be played, especially considering they have games in hand on every divisional opponent. Despite struggles, own 2nd best goal differential divisionally. Key points available in their last two games, need to get positive vibes back.
Up Next: Dec. 15th @ Selkirk, Dec. 16th @ Winkler
(-1) 9th – Selkirk Steelers
This Week: 0-1
Overall: 10-15-1-1
Impressive Player: Rocco La Cara – 2 goals in 1 game
Caught in a sort of limbo, the Steelers have shown they can put up wins. But they haven’t shown they can do it for a long stretch. They need to put things together and hope teams ahead of them hit a rough patch if they want to get back into the playoff conversation. No time to waste. Every point is critical.
Up Next: Dec. 15th vs Dauphin, Dec. 16th vs Niverville, Dec. 19th vs Portage, Christmas Break
(+1) 10th – Swan Valley Stampeders
This Week: 1-2
Overall: 7-21-2
Impressive Player: Griffin Ayotte – 1 goal, 3 assists in 3 games
Nice team win but unable to keep the good times rolling. Moving out some pieces will give other players opportunities to step up. Still lots of time for some players to carve out new roles this year and in the future. Don’t think they’ll roll over, they’ll make teams earn points and pay a price for it.
Up Next: Dec. 15th @ Virden, Dec. 16th vs Neepawa, Christmas Break
(+1) 11th – Winnipeg Blues
This Week: 1-2
Overall: 6-19-3
Impressive Player: Brody Green – 2 goals, 2 assists in 3 games
A relieving win to break a long skid proves the Blues have the ability to be dangerous. Young players learning on the job can be tough but also exciting. They’ll take some hard nights if it means learning lessons for the future. Have a chance to steal some games and stay out of last spot in the division
Up Next: Dec. 15th vs Portage, Dec. 16th @ Steinbach, Christmas Break
(-3) 12th Winnipeg Freeze
This Week: 0-2
Overall: 6-19-1
Impressive Player: Xyon Kiemeney – 1 goal, 1 assist in 2 games
Similar to their in-town rival, some nights are going to be long, some lessons are going to hurt. They wanted respect and they’ve gotten it. Other teams don’t take them for granted but that means they get their opponents best consistently. Now it’s time to learn how to deal with that.
Up Next: Dec. 14th vs Portage, Dec. 15th @ Steinbach, Dec. 17th vs Waywayseecappo, Christmas Break
(-3) 13th – Waywayseecappo Wolverines
This Week: 0-2
Overall: 10-17-0-2
Impressive Player: Lucas Perry – 1 goal in 2 games
The good news is they’re a team that can score. The bad news is they are giving up more than they’re getting. Hard to break the habit of searching for goals at the expense of giving up high danger chances. Not out of the playoff race but need to find a way to at least get a point out of games for a stretch.
Up Next: Dec. 15th @ Blizzard, Dec. 17th @ WPG Freeze, Dec. 19th vs Blizzard, Christmas Break
