Following a six-day break between games, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines will return to home ice on Tuesday night to host the Neepawa Natives.
The Wolverines will look to snap a three-game losing streak with their most recent loss coming against the Virden Oil Capitals one week ago in a 5-2 defeat.
Just 4-5-1-0 in their last ten games, the Wolverines will look to gain some traction and get on a roll with just nine games remaining before the start of playoffs.
Head to Head
Through four games in their season series, the Wolverines have gone 3-1-0-0 with their last meeting going the way of the Natives over two months ago. In the Wolverines three wins, they have outscored the Natives, 13-6.
After a scoreless first period, Neepawa scored a pair of goals just six minutes apart in the late stages of the second to lead by 2-0 leading into the third.
An early goal from Jacob Charko seemed to spark the Wolverines, but Neepawa would respond shortly after to regain their two-goal lead and never looked back as the Natives would take a 3-1 victory.
Natives Outlook
With just ten wins on the season in fifty games, Neepawa hasn’t been great this year from the outside looking in. In reality, they have consistently given the top teams in the league trouble at times and certainly make you work for it.
Just 2-8-0-0 in their last ten, Neepawa picked up wins over Steinbach and Winnipeg during that stretch. Losing three games by one goal, and five games by two, the Natives continue to improve their game and compete every night.
Eli Lieffers continues to lead the Natives in scoring with 20 goals and 24 assists in 49 games.
Goaltender, Michael Davis has been steady between the pipes for Neepawa since being acquired from Swan Valley midway through the season. Sporting a 3.39 goals-against average and .907 save percentage, Davis’s numbers are more than respectable.
News and Notes
The Wolverines and Oil Capitals sit dead even with 56 points each and 51 games played leading into Tuesday night as the club inches closer to clinching a playoff birth.
Dauphin also sits just one point back of the Wolverines, with 51 games in the books.
Tuesday’s contest will be Jack Kennedy’s 100th MJHL game while Gerrik Ripley will hit the ice for his 100th CJHL game.
Following Tuesday nights’ contest, the Wolverines will have just three games remaining on home ice and will hit the road on the weekend for meetings against Swan Valley and OCN.
Where to Watch
Watch tonight’s game between the Wolverines and Natives live on HockeyTV.com or follow the Wolverines on Twitter @mjhlWolverines for live game updates.