Neepawa Natives bottle up Oil Caps
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- Published on Thursday, January 25, 2018
Virden Oil Capitals goaltender Riley McVeigh steers away a shot from Brett Namaka (7) of the Neepawa Natives in the second period. (Photo courtesy of Diane Warner)
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
The Neepawa Natives picked up a big win on Wednesday, Jan. 24, with a 5-2 decision over the Virden Oil Capitals. The victory was Neepawa’s 20th of the season, and more importantly, moved them a bit closer to the seventh place Winnipeg Blues in the MJHL standings. The Natives now have 43 points on the year, to Winnipeg's 46.
As for the game against the Oil Caps, Natives’ forward Brad Marshall netted a pair of goals, while teammate Benoit Mowbray had a three point night (1 goal - 2 assists). Ashton Anderson and Justin Metcalf also scored for the Natives, while Tyler Kirkup and Justin Lee answered back for the Oil Caps. Spencer Eschyschyn picked up the win in net for Neepawa, turning aside 25 of 27 shots.
Natives head coach Dustin Howden said this was a tremendous effort by the entire team.
“It’s that point of the year where you’ve got to pick up your game, and that’s what happened out there tonight. The team moved the puck extremely well and put pressure on the Virden players whenever they had control of the puck. This was the type of win that a coaching staff is definitely proud of, because the team collectively went out there and played a smart, skilled sixty minutes.” said Howden. “They were doing all the little things you ask of them. Blocking shots, finishing checks, being crisp with their passes. All of that adds up and you get what you saw out there tonight.”
Howden also commended the performance of the Brad Marshall, Benoit Mowbray and Jesse Gibbons line, as well as Spencer Eschyschyn’s effort between the pipes.
The Natives (20-21-3. 43 points) will close out the month of January with three games. First, they’ll travel to Waywayseecappo on Saturday, Jan. 27 to play the Wolverines. The next night will be a game in Virden versus the Oil Capitals. Neepawa close out the first month of the year with a road game against the ninth place Swan Valley Stampeders (17-19-5. 39 points) on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
