By Derek Holtom
Through the first seven games of 2024, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines have only allowed 14 goals against – an average of two per game.
That has helped the Wolverines post a 3-3-1 record in that span. The month included one-goal losses to Steinbach, Virden and Winkler – basically the cream of the crop in the MJHL. The Wolverines have really locked down their team defense, and if they can get their offense to produce just a bit more, they’ll be on their way to catching the Neepawa Titans for the final playoff spot in the West Division.
“As a group we’ve decided to take a different approach and take more pride away from the puck,” says Wolverines Head Coach and General Manager, Taylor Harnett. “I think the scores are an indication of that.”
“(Goaltender) Kaiden Kirkwood has started the majority of those games, and he’s given us a chance to win and have success,” he added. “All in all we’re definitely pleased with our play away from the puck, and it seems to be paying off.”
Last week
The week ended on a down note for the Wolverines as they fell 5-2 (EN) in Winkler against the red-hot Flyers, winners of nine of 10 games heading into their Sunday matinee.
The Flyers scored three in the final frame, including one into the empty net, to finally pull away from the visiting Wolverines.
Ben Roulette (16th) and Sean Williams (21st) both scored for Wayway, who fell to 14-21-1-3 with the loss.
Kaiden Kirkwood took the loss, stopping 28 of 31 shots before he had to leave the game with 10 minutes left in regulation.
The Wolverines got back on the winning track Thursday on home ice as they edged the visiting Swan Valley Stampeders 2-1.
The Wolverines relied on their special teams to get the job done on this night. They opened the scoring in the second period thanks to a short-handed goal by Ryan Jossy (sixth), and added to that lead with a power-play goal by Ben Roulette (15th). That goal came with 17 seconds left in the second period.
The Stamps would get one back in the third but they could not close the gap totally.
Wayway netminder Jase Wareham earned the win with a 25-save effort. The Wolverines had 49 shots on goal.
“One thing, when you see that many shots on goal, two things can happen – their goalie plays well and they do a good job of keeping the shots to the outside,” says Harnett. “I thought Swan did a good job of that, and they had a bit of life in the third when they scored.”
But Wayway’s special teams was up to the task in this game.
“You look at our previous four games, I don’t know if we scored on the power-play – and that could have meant some more points for us,” said Harnett. “It was something we addressed, and needed to see some success, and ultimately at the end we did see that.”
The Wolverines started the week with another close one-goal game. Unfortunately, it was another one-goal loss as they fell 3-2 in Virden against the division-leading Oil Capitals.
Virden held period leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on their way to victory. They eventually went up 3-1 with 4:39 left in regulation. Wayway's Jack Clarke scored his 20th 23 seconds later to make it a one-goal game again, but the visitors were unable to close the game before the end of regulation.
Garett Zasitko (eighth) had Wayway's other goal.
Kaiden Kirkwood ended up with 30 saves while taking the loss.
Up next
The Wolverines welcome a pair of out-of-division teams this coming weekend, as the lowly Winnipeg Blues come to town Friday, and the Niverville Nighthawks come on Saturday. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.
The Blues surprised the OCN Blizzard on a recent road trip into the West Division, so while on paper this looks like the easiest game of the week, there are no sure victories at this level.
That said the Wolverines are 3-0 against the Blues this year, and beat them 7-0 in their last meeting.
CLAW MARKS – The Neepawa Titans squeaked by the Winnipeg Freeze in overtime on Saturday to open a seven-point bulge over the Wolverines. After Wayway’s game versus Winkler Saturday, the Wolverines trail the Titans by seven points with 17 games to play. That means the Wolverines will have to win four more games than the Titans down the stretch. They do have two games remaining against one another on Feb. 19 and Feb. 27 which will go a long way to determining who makes the playoffs and who does not … Wayway has a few games left against lesser teams in the MJHL – two against Swan Valley, one against the Winnipeg Blues, and two against the Selkirk Steelers. Neepawa has two against Swan Valley, one against the Winnipeg Blues, one against the Winnipeg Freeze and two against the Selkirk Steelers. So technically, the Titans have the easier schedule down the stretch.