Wings Fall Short in Overtime

It was a first place showdown tonight at the "Vault" in Melville and it turned out that everyone got there money's worth as the Mils downed the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. Kale Dolinski scored the overtime winner on a mixup in the Weyburn end just a 1:13 into the extra frame. Matt Kinnunen had a goal and an assist for the Millionaires while Curtis Beech and Brad Johnston added singles. Jordan Reeve also had an assist for Melville. Luke Johnson, Josh Bray and Scott Doody (who forced overtime with 3:25 to go in the third) replied for the Wings. Rhett Bly, Stephen Simms and Connor Krukowski all added assists. The Wings were playing without the services of captain Kyle Haines as he was a bit banged up and his status was not immediately known. Kyle Cantlon turned aside 34 Weyburn shots to pick up the win. AJ Whiffen was also busy at the other end as he made 36 saves. The Millionaires are now one point up on the Wings for first in the Sherwood. The Mils improve to 15-5-1-0 while the Wings are now 13-8-2-2.

In Estevan, the Kindersley Klippers scored with a 1:35 to go in regulation and skated out of Estevan with a 4-3 victory. Jayde Dunser and Ben Ritchie each had a goal and an assist to pace the Klippers. Brett Leedahl and Kendall Holmes also scored for Kindersley. Jeremy Beller added two assists. Brody Haygarth, Riley Tetreault and Kyle Stroh replied for the Bruins. Matt Weninger got a rare start for the Klippers and did not disappoint as he made 38 saves for the win. David Ritz got his second start in consecutive games since joining the Bruins and was forced to make 41 saves. This is twice as many shots as he was facing when with Melfort. The Klippers are tied with the Terriers for third in the Sherwood as they improve to 13-9-0-2. The Bruins drop to 11-10-2-0.

In Melfort, the Mustangs keep finding a way to win as they downed the Yorkton Terriers 3-2 in overtime. Kyle Fraser was the hero for Melfort as he scored an unassisted marker 3:23 into the extra frame. Donavon Chow and John Payne also scored for Melfort. Jock Sutter had a goal and an assist to lead the Terriers. Kyle Block had the other Yorkton goal. Ilia Ejov improved to 9-0-0-1 since joining the Mustangs as he made 16 saves. Lynden Sammartino made 37 saves in the Terriers net. The Mustangs have moved to within three points of first place Humboldt as they improve to 15-7-0-1. The Terriers pick up a single point and are now 12-8-2-2.

In the battle of the North, the Flin Flin Bombers won for the first time in La Ronge in a long time as they downed the host Ice Wolves 4-3. Pierre-Luc Boucher had three assists to lead the Bombers offensively. Dominic Martel, Dennis Kubat, Reid MacLeod and Cole Wilson scored for the Bombers. Myles Masse added two assists. Tyler Karst, Adam Moar and Bruno-Pier Gosselin scored for La Ronge. Jarrid Dowhay added two assists for the Wolves. Calvin Bartel made 26 saves to pick up the win. Jonathan Jobin got the start for the Ice Wolves and stopped 37 of 41 Flin Flon shots. The Bombers are now 13-8-0-1 while the Ice Wolves drop back to .500 with a record of 11-11-1-1.

Saturday's Three Stars:

* Pierre - Luc Boucher - Flin Flin Bombers (3 points to lead Bombers to win over La Ronge)
** Ben Ritchie - Kindersley Klippers (2 point night, scored game winner late in third)
*** Kyle Cantlon - Melville Millionaires (34 save performance in win over Weyburn)

Sunday in the SJHL:

La Ronge @ Humboldt
Yorkton @ Nipawin

All in all I must say it was a good week for the Wings. The guys played hard all week and were able to pick up five out of six points. It looks like things are going in the right direction. The Wings will now get a bit of a break before getting ready for a weekend home and home versus Estevan on Friday and Saturday. It should be an important couple of games with the Sherwood standings so tight right now.

As I sign off. Go RIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Brad M.