Not invited to the post season party

Neepawa Titans eliminated from playoff contention

By Eoin Devereux Neepawa Banner & Press

The seemingly inevitable has happened, as the Neepawa Titans have officially been eliminated from playoff contention with their recent loss to the Steinbach Pistons. The 7-6 defeat in regulation on Sunday, Mar. 5, ensured Neepawa would be unable to reach the fourth and final playoff position in the MJHL West Division standings.

With just four games remaining (As of Wednesday, Mar. 8) on their regular season schedule, the Titans are 11 points back of the Dauphin Kings (29-21-2-2), who are currently in fourth place.

A good effort against Steinbach

If there are any positives to be taken away from the loss to Steinbach, perhaps it could be that the Titans nearly pulled off the upset over one of the best teams in all of Junior “A” hockey.

Game results

Sunday, Mar. 5 Stienbach 7-6 Neepawa

First Period

02:47 STN K. Mullen (12)

ASST: B. Kaiser (10)

04:22 STN P. Jasper (2) PP

ASST: L. Chambers (20)

11:08 NPA P. Korman (12)

ASST: B. Michalchuk (16),G. MacDonald (1)

13:30 STN T. Hensrud (32)

ASST: I. Amsbaugh (35)

15:40 NPA H. Stocks (26) PP

ASST: B. Wood (31), E. Poirier (10)

18:50 STN P. Jasper (3) PP

ASST: K. Mullen (9), T. Paisley (33)

19:19 NPA C. McLeod (11) PP

ASST: B. Wood (32)

Second Period

01:01 NPA H. Stocks (27)

ASST: G. MacDonald (2)

07:10 STN K. Mullen (13) PP

ASST: P. Jasper (10), T. Paisley (34)

15:30 NPA C. Kasprick (7)

ASST: C. Trimble (15), M. Hartley (8)

15:52 NPA B. Wood (19)

ASST: H. Stocks (21), C. Smith (20)

Third Period

13:33 STN N. Mikan (15) PP

ASST: Unassited

18:55 STN T. Hensrud (33)

ASST: K. Mullen (10), T. Paisley (35)

Scoring 1 2 3 Total PP

STN 4 1 2 7 4/8

NPA 3 3 0 6 2/3

Goaltenders

STN C. Plowman - (W) 10/16 saves

NPA M. Lobreau - (L) 25/32 saves

Attendance: 350- Yellowhead Centre

Club 55 Bowling

FEB 23/23:

Ladies’ High Single: Mur- iel Porada 199. Ladies’

High Triple: Carole Le -

Boutillier 496. Men’s

High Single & Triple:

Darrell Gabler 199 & 512.

Other Scores to Note:

Judy Gabler 163, 175;

Len Pritchard 168: Calvin

Goetz 163, 177; Carole

LeBoutillier 169, 157, 170;

Frank Porada 172, 156;

Darrell Gabler 163, 150;

Ray Criddle 165, 171.

THHL Playoffs

East Division Semi Finals

#1 Gladstone vs. #4 Neepawa Gladstone win series 3-0

#2 Minnedosa vs. #3 Wawanesa Minnedosa win series 3-0

West Division Semi Finals

#1 Miniota/Elkhorn vs. #4 Rivers

Miniota/Elkhorn win series 3-0

#2 Killarney vs. #3 Virden Killarney

While the Pistons jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, Neepawa kept pressing their opponents, leading to a Parker Korman goal. The two teams then exchanged multiple goals to close out the first, with Hayden Stocks and Carter McLeod contributing for Neepawa.

For the second period, the Titans went off with three goals, including a second on the night for Stocks, which brought the rookie’s team leading total to 27 on the year. Cooper Kasprick and Briley Wood had the other goals for Neepawa, which put them up 6-5 after 40 minutes.

For the third, the Pistons pushed to find the equalizer, and would eventually get it on a power play. Then with just 1:05 left in regulation, heartbreak for the hometown team and its fans, as Pistons’ points leader Travis Hensrud cashed in on a rebound to make it 7-6. The defeat in regulation snuffed out Neepawa’s hopes for spring hockey at the Yellowhead Centre.

A win over Niverville

Earlier in the week, Neepawa travelled to Niverville to face the MJHL’s newest franchise, the Niverville Nighthawks. In their first year of existence, the Nighthawks have been able to take advantage of a relatively weak group of clubs (with the obvious exceptions of Portage and Steinbach) in the Eastern Division, and carve out for themselves a comfortable place in fourth place for most of the year.

As for the game, Neepawa jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, off a pair of power-play goals from Briley Wood and a short handed marker from Cameron Trimble. Niverville replied back with two in the second, before the Titans’ Cody Gudnason picked up his eight goal of the year, to make it 4-2. For the final period Gudnason and Wood added one more apiece, while Niverville made it close with a pair of their own, making the final score 6-4 for Neepawa.

What’s next for Neepawa?

The Titans close out the season with three of their four final games on the road. The last home game will be on Friday, Mar. 17, when they host the Selkirk Steelers. Start time will be at 7:30 p.m.