Stampeders blank Natives

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Published on Thursday, February 9, 2017

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

Despite throwing everything they had at the Swan Valley Stampeders on Wednesday, Feb. 8., the Neepawa Natives left the ice on the losing end of a 1-0 decision. But more importantly, they likely left it with doubts over whether or not the playoffs are still a realistic goal. 

This game was the definition of a four-point night, as Swan Valley entered the game holding down eighth place in the standings, a full eight points clear of Neepawa. A victory for the Natives would have provided them with a chance to cut into that deficit, heading into the final few weeks of the regular season. Both teams started the game with a sense of urgency, keeping goaltenders Tyler Gutenberg and Brett Evans busy early. The Stamps swayed the momentum to their side with an early power-play chance, but couldn’t take advantage. While Swan Valley’s power-play units cycled the puck in the Neepawa zone, the Natives were able to get in front of shots, not allowing many pucks to get in front of Gutenberg. For the rest of the period, both teams exchanged multiple chances, but neither bench was able to find that allusive goal.

It was more of the same in the second period, as there were a few close calls for Neepawa to get written into the stat line. First, Zach Johnson hit a crossbar near the middle of the period. That was followed up a few minutes later with a quality opportunity from Justin Metcalf, that appeared to glance off the side of Evan’s mask and away from the net. Then just before the end of the second, Ashton Anderson sped into the Swan Valley zone, but was denied a goal from a sprawling effort from Evans. The Stampeders had their chances as well, but Gutenberg put in a tremendous effort of his own to keep it even at 0-0 after 40 minutes of play.

Both clubs hit the ice in the third period hoping to finally take advantage of their opportunities. After another ten minutes of back and forth, Swan Valley forward Jason Cohan made a remarkable move in the neutral zone to stymie three nearby Natives players. He then pushed into the Neepawa zone and slid a perfect pass over to Noah Basarab, who puts it away an easy goal into the back of the Natives’ net. That made it 1-0 Stampeders with just 10 minutes left in regulation. Neepawa relentlessly pushed for the equalizer, but ultimately came up short.

Most disheartening was a pair of chances within a minute of one another. First, a Neepawa shot with just over five minutes left flipped over the head of Evans, but instead of falling into the back of the goal, found its way onto the top of the net. Immediately after that, another shot would create a rebound in front of the Swan Valley goal, with Evans out of position. None of Neepawa’s attackers could get into a prime position to put away the easy one, before the puck was cleared out of the zone. From there, Swan Valley was able to run down the clock for the victory. 

“We had opportunities, but a combination of bad luck and a solid effort by [Brett Evans] just kept us off the scoreboard,” stated Natives head coach Dustin Howden. “In the last couple weeks, the focus in practice has been being more aggressive and getting pucks and bodies to the net. Real crash and bang. Any goal you can get is a good one. Swan had a chance tonight and they took advantage of it. That’s just how the goals have to go in at this point of the year.”

The Neepawa Natives (12-31-5. 29 points) will look to bounce back from this disappointment on Friday, Feb. 10, when they host the Portage Terriers (31-15-3. 69 points) at the Yellowhead Centre. Start time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.