Andrew leads Winkler to victory in Centennial Cup opener
Sniper score four times as Flyers double-up on Sioux Lookout 4-2
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2024 (840 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winkler’s Dalton Andrew led the MJHL with 43 goals during the regular season and the towering right-winger showed no signs of letting up at the Centennial Cup Thursday.
The 20-year-old Brandonite scored four times to lead the MJHL champion Flyers to a 4-2 triumph over the Sioux Lookout Bombers in the opening preliminary-round game for both teams at the national junior A hockey championship being played in Oakville, Ont.
Andrew potted one goal on a rebound but scored the other three on deadly snipes from distance to beat Sioux Lookout goaltender Jack Osmond as Winkler outshot the Superior International Junior Hockey League champs, 44-19.
Heather Pollock / Hockey Canada Images
Winkler Flyers left-winger Trent Penner (right) battles Sioux Lookout Bombers defenceman Josh Greene in front of Bombers goaltender Jack Osmond Thursday afternoon.
“He has a good shot and a good release,” said Flyers GM and head coach Justin Falk of Andrew. “And credit to his teammates because in a few of those situations we had some good net front presence. The Sioux Lookout goalie played exceptionally well. He had a really strong playoffs for them and had a good stat line and made some very key saves.”
Andrew had three hat tricks and one five-goal outing during the regular season.
Falk said his club, which had not played in 13 days, took some time to adapt to the Olympic sized ice surface at Oakville’s Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, which he estimated is 15 to 20 feet wider than Winkler’s Centennial Arena.
“It was one of those games where we did a lot of good things offensively and we generated a lot of good chances,” said Falk. “We were be a little rusty on some of our odd-man rushes but give credit to them. They worked extremely hard and they had some some Grade-A and opportunities where we weren’t quite as sharp defensively as we needed to be, especially after the layoff.”
The Flyers practised Friday in preparation for Saturday’s 11 a.m. CDT meeting with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melfort Mustangs.
Melfort opened tournament play Thursday with a 4-1 win over the Maritime Hockey League’s Miramichi Timberwolves.
“We’ve watched some video, we’ve gotten some pre-scout reports and we watched their game last night,” said Falk. “They’re gonna bring a high level of compete there. They had a good (SJHL) final series against Flin Flon.
“We can’t get surprised by anything. That’s what I think probably the biggest challenge for any team going into these events is is having the inner confidence of what your group is and what you did to get you to where you are now.”
MJHL playoff MVP Malachi Klassen is expected to get the start in goal for Winkler.
mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca