Flyers secure Centennial Cup playoff berth with shootout loss

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This article was published 14/05/2024 (835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

From 122 teams to 10 to six, the Winkler Flyers remain in the mix.

The MJHL champions, competing for a national Junior A title at the Centennial Cup, wrapped up the round-robin portion on Tuesday night with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Miramichi Timberwolves.

Winkler went 2-0-2 in Group B, good for a third-place finish that gets them into the quarterfinals on Friday night. They’ll face the second-place finisher from Group A — either Collingwood, Calgary or Navan depending on Wednesday’s results— and must win three straight elimination games if they wish to be the last squad standing by Sunday.

“This will be the first time for our team to have that win-or-go-home situation,” coach Justin Falk told the Free Press following the game. “We’ve never had our backs up against the wall yet throughout the playoffs, so we won’t have that experience to fall back on. But it will be good for us.”

The season began with 122 teams competing in nine Junior A leagues across the country. The nine champions, along with host Oakville, qualified for this annual spring tournament, playing in groups of five that now get reduced to three each following the round-robin.

Winkler needed a regulation win on Tuesday night to have a shot at finishing first and going straight to the semifinals on Saturday. A valid argument could be made that they deserved a better fate, as they largely carried the play and outshot Miramichi 42-24.

However, Timberwolves goaltender Adam Rouleau stood tall stopping 40 pucks, plus four of the five shootout attempts he faced. Flyers netminder Malachi Klassen made 22 saves in regulation and overtime, then three of five in the breakaway contest.

Miramichi ends up finishing second, while Melfort (which beat Winkler 6-5 in a shootout on Saturday) finishes on top of Group B.

Winkler defenceman Connor Jensen, who had no goals in 51 regular-season games, accounted for all the offence in this game.

His first was a highlight-reel special, as the 20-year-old from Spokane, Wash., used a filthy toe drag to avoid a sliding Miramichi defender, then finished it off with a nifty deke. That gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 1:57 left in the first period

However, the Timberwolves struck twice in rapid succession just prior to the intermission, with goals at 18:57 (on the power play) and 19:20.

Jensen was back at it with just over six minutes left in the middle frame, ripping a wicked wrister through traffic with his team enjoying a man advantage.

“He’s finding his groove here,” said Falk.

“We’re playing on an Olympic-sized ice sheet here. So maybe certain players are benefitting from the extra second or two offensively when they have the puck, and it’s allowing him to really grow in his confidence and poise. He’s always had a good skill set and a good playmaking ability. He’s a great kid and he’s worked hard and has really bought into understanding how to grow confidence and we try to help him in those areas. He’s thriving right now.”

The Flyers really took over from that point on, outshooting Miramichi 16-4 in the third period, but were unable to find another goal.

The team will enjoy a day away from the rink on Wednesday — a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto is planned — then practice on Thursday to get ready for what they hope will be a memorable weekend.

“This will be the first day we’ve got a bit of a break in our schedule since we got here. We had four (games) in six to start, after about a 12-day layoff from playing back in Manitoba,” said Falk.

“We’re pretty competitive. Our goal is to win, and we’re going to put forth everything we can to make sure we try.”

The Portage Terriers were the last Manitoba club to win the Centennial Cup in 2015.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewg