By TERRY PUGH
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) all-stars prevailed over their Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) counterparts in a two-game tournament in Martensville.
Team SJHL won the first match-up of the Western All-Star Challenge by a score of 5-2 on Tuesday evening, November 3, and came out on top 8-6 in the second game on Wednesday, November 4.
In that opening contest, Team MJHL jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal by William Picklyk (assist from Christian Pitz), but Team SJHL evened the score when Owen Chapman (Hayden Iron Shirt) scored midway through the first period. Team MJHL once again took the lead on a shorthanded marker by Trace Langan (Owen Murray) to make it 2-1 at the end of 20 minutes.
In the middle frame, Team SJHL’s Tyson Medernach scored a shorthanded goal to tie things up at 2-2.
The third period belonged to Team Saskatchewan, with three unanswered goals by Cooper Perrin (Aedan McCarry, Aidan Mohan), Xavier Doane (Jake Hargrave) and Aedan McCarry (Jaggar John, Aidan Mohan). Team SJHL goalie Finn Werner turned away everything that came his way late in the game to preserve the win.
In the second game on Wednesday, November 4, Team Manitoba once again came out flying in the first period. Chance Gregg (Owen Lutgen, Ahmad Favad), Quinten Fisk (Anthony Bedard) and Trace Langhan (Christian Pitz) scored for Manitoba in the opening frame, while Team SJHL struggled to find a chink in Manitoba goaltender Joe Naccarato’s armour.
However, just 44 seconds into the middle frame, Team SJHL’s Carson Park (Tyson Medernach) scored on a power play to get the host team on the board.
Team MJHL’s William Picklyk restored Manitoba’s three-goal cushion a couple minutes later, only to have Team SJHL’s Eric Grandberg score at the 14-:26 mark to make it 4-2.
Manitoba’s Chance Gregg recorded his second goal of the game a minute later to give his team a 5-2 lead.
But, Team SJHL took charge after that. Jaggar John (Jake Hargrave) bent the twine at the 16:07 mark, followed by a goal from Sawyer Scheidt (Jaggar John) at 16:51 and another SJHL goal by Cooper Perrin (Jaggar John) with one second left on the clock in the second period to knot things up at 5-5 after 40 minutes.
Team MJHL jumped out to a one-goal lead at 4:16 in the final frame on a goal by Crosby Harrison (Trace Langan), but less than a minute later Aidan Mohan (Jake Hargrave) scored for Team SJHL to tie it up at 6-6. Austin Mori-Goodman (Owen Chapman, Tyson Medernach) put Team SJHL in front 7-6 at the 13:44 mark. The host team added an empty-netter by Aidan Mohan in the final minute to ice the game at 8-6.
Team SJHL goaltender Kaleb Page faced 26 shots while Team MJHL netminder Naccarato was peppered with 34 shots.