Dogs take a bite out of Neepawa Natives’ playoff chances

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Published on Monday, February 19, 2018

Ashton Anderson scored twice and added two assists in the Natives 6-5 loss to Portage on Monday, Feb. 19.

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner & Press

The window of opportunity to make it into the MJHL playoffs is closing for the Neepawa Natives and the Portage Terriers are likely taking some delight in being the ones who are slamming it shut.

Portage recently won a pair of games over the Natives, first collecting a 6-3 victory on Friday, Feb. 16 at the Yellowhead Arena. The Terriers followed that up with a 6-5 decision at Stride Place, in a matinee tilt on Monday, Feb. 19 in Portage la Prairie. 

For the first game, the Terriers struck first, when Troy Williams beat Brendan Benoit with a wrist shot from the blue-line. Brent Namaka replied by burying a shot into the back of the net with 14:34 gone in the first. Portage would regain the lead just over a minute later, with Turner Ripplinger putting away his 16th of the season.

For the second period, Portage added to their advantage, when Jeremey Leipsic and Ryan Sokoloski each put away goals. Neepawa would get one back when Sam Stewart scored on a power-play opportunity. That would make it 4-2 Terriers going into the third period.

The final 20 minutes of action would be very eventful, to say the least, as the physical play and aggression would boil over with a line brawl. A few punches were thrown, but nothing all that out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until the benches started having words, that things turned into a bit of ‘Olde tyme hockey’. After a few players from each team were tossed from the game, a ruckus broke out near the Terriers’ dressing room. While the exact goings-on were not witnessed by this reporter, second hand accounts suggested there was a heated discussion between opposing representatives in the hallway. This alleged incident has not been confirmed. Whatever did or did not occur, however, was still enough to have Terriers coach Blake Spiller and officials rush off the bench and ice, respectively and head to the back hallway for a few minutes. 

As for the actual gameplay, which did become a bit secondary by that point, Portage scored two more in the period, while Neepawa managed just one, when Jordan Martin got his 16 of the year. 

At the end of the night, Brock Aiken picked up his 11th win in goal for Portage, making 28 saves on 31 shots. Brendan Benoit made 20 save for the Natives.

Zach Johnson in close on Terriers goalie Brock Aiken in the 2nd period. Johnson did score once in this game.

Heartbreaker in Portage la Prairie

On four separate occasions,  the Portage Terriers trailed by two goals to the Neepawa Natives on Monday, Feb. 19. And on those four separate occasions, Portage answered back, including three straight goals in the third period, to claim a 6-5 win. 

Ryan Sokoloski scored twice, including the game winner with just 2:19 left in regulation, to give the Terriers the win. Neepawa’s Ashton Anderson, meanwhile, had a four point effort (2 goals - 2 assists) in the defeat. 

In this early matinee game at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, Neepawa poured on the pressure early, resulting in a pair of goals. Justin Metcalf and Ashton Anderson scored in the first ten minutes of play. The second goal, potted by Anderson, was a short handed effort and off a two-on-none breakaway.  The Terriers bounced back, however, before the end of their power-play. But just as quickly, Neepawa regained the two goal cushion on a Zach Johnson goal, to make it 3-1 after the first.

For the second period, Jeremey Leipsic and Anderson scoring for their respective teams early on. As the period progressed, Portage had multiple near misses, but simply couldn’t find a lucky bounce. The extended aggressive effort did pay off eventually, as Duncan Pierce found the back of the Neepawa net, making it 4-3 going into the final period. 

A Zak Smith goal 7:48 into the third provided the Natives with a 5-3 lead, but that would be the end on Neepawa’s scoring. Portage's effort to light the lamp though was just warming up. Ty Enns, Chase Brakel and Ryan Sokoloski all contributed in giving the Terriers the win in regulation. In the final period, Portage outshot Neepawa 19-7, and 45-24 over the course of the entire game. 

These recent losses have placed Neepawa (24 wins, 28 losses, 3 OT/SO losses) in a tough situation. They now trail the Swan Valley Stampeders by five points in the chase for the final playoff spot. The Natives have five games remaining on the schedule to make up that distance. The Natives' next game will be in Winkler on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Their next home game is Saturday, Feb. 24 versus the OCN Blizzard.