Flyers Use Forecheck To Defeat Mavericks
At the start of the first period it looked like the Moose Jaw Carpet One Mavericks might have the upper hand on the Milestone U18 A Female Flyers.
The Mavericks managed to out stick handle the Flyers and put pressure on the visitors. The Flyers would use their strong forecheck to contain the Mavericks.
After 60 minutes the Flyers defeated the Mavericks 3 - 1 in Saskatchewan Female Hockey League action on Thursday evening.
Flyers Dayna Pratt (left) and Mavericks Ava Nichol fight for puck possession
The First Period saw the Mavericks take the lead.
Sitting on the Flyers’ doorstep Jayden Babich deflected a Miley Kleckner shot past Amelia Heagy. Also assisting on the goal was Chantel Howe.
Time of the goal was 10:25.
The Flyers got on the scoreboard at 15:17 of the Second Period.
Kya Woitas skated in on right wing on Mavericks goaltender Brinnagh McKean and scored. The assist went to Eva Horker.
The Flyers took the lead at 12:32 on Rozilin Morrisette goal assisted by Carolyn Weisgerber.
The Third Period saw Sadie McFadden score an unassisted goal at 14:40.
A potentially major turning point happened in the third period when the Mavericks had a two player advantage for 37 seconds.
The Flyers managed to fight off both penalties.
Mavericks Chantel Howe (left) tries to hold off the Flyers Kya Woitas
“I thought we played really well,” Flyers head coach Shane Kaufmann said.
The Flyers played a strong game as the flu bug that had hampered the team’s play for weeks is now gone.
“We have got through that (the flu) I think pretty good. We’ve got a little bit still hanging around but it’s not bad,” Kaufmann said, adding “we’re good now I think.”
The Flyers played a much faster and active game than when they faced the Mavericks in Milestone.
Mavericks goaltender Brinnagh McKean watches as a shot just goes wide
Asked if he was happy where the team is presently sitting in the standings Kaufmann said he isn’t as the team has not performed well since Christmas but “it’s good to get back on the winning streak.”
“It was the TSN turning point today.”
Asked about the two player advantage and how that could have changed the game he said the team worked well to kill it.
“They didn’t have many chances on the powerplay today,” he said.
Regarding the play of Mavericks goaltender Brinnagh McKean the Flyers assistant coach Andrew McFadden said “she played really good.”
Mavericks goaltender Brinnagh McKean Makes a save close in against the flyers Dayna pratt
Kaufmann said the Flyers “we played really well. This is probably one of our best outings yet.”
“We moved the puck good. We back checked good. We forechecked good. I thought we played real good,” he said.
The key to the Flyers game was the teams forecheck which prevented the Maverick’s from breaking out of their end, he said.
Asked about the Flyers slow start Kaufmann said it was to be expected.
“It’s the general mentality until you figure out what you’ve got to do.”
About Moose Jaw’s lone marker Kaufmann said it was “a shot that came from the point. Our goalie didn’t see it, it was deflected. She didn’t see it. She played really good I thought.”
The Flyers are going to be working on their breakouts.
“If we can get a little stronger on our breakouts I think is something we need to work on.”
The puck just rolls wide past the Mavericks net
Jeff Wilson, assistant coach of the Moose Jaw Mavericks, said despite the loss the team played well.
“It was an improvement over our first game in Milestone. We had a little bit more jump but Milestone really took it to us tonight. They had a good forecheck and we fought with that all night long,” Wilson said.
Asked about the importance of the two player advantage Moose Jaw held in the third period and their inability to score he said it was a major turning point in the game.
Flyers Mallory Tendler tries to out skate an opponent
“That was a big turning point right there. Probably the TSN turning point if you want to call it. Five on three you have got to take advantage of it. They play hard and very good. They kept us out of there,” he said.
Scoring on the two player advantage offered the Mavericks an opportunity to cut the margin or tie the Flyers.
Asked about the start of the first period and the Mavericks strong start he said the team came out well but ran out of gas.
“We just tired out is what it was so you know it’s one of those games.”
A Mavericks player dives for the puck in the center ice area
Asked about the team’s overall play Wilson said there has been measurable improvement.
“You mentioned the first game we played against them we’ve improved. We’ve taken steps ahead for sure. We have a lot of APs (Affiliated Players). We have four or five APs and those APs are really stepping up,”
“Things are looking good going into the tournament this weekend,” he said.
This weekend Moose Jaw will host their hometown tournament with 47 teams competing in all divisions.
Players fight for the puck in front of Flyers goaltender Amelia Heagy
One area of improvement for the Mavericks this season has been their goaltending by Brinnagh McKean.
She has been playing good. She has been on a roll probably the last three or four games she’s played. She has probably stopped 40 or 50 shots a game. She has improved so much since the start of the year,” he said.
“We are really proud of her. She kept us in it tonight for sure.”
Flyers Josephine Sauter (right) steers the puck away from the Mavericks Jesse Mielke in the crease
Despite their position in the standings the Mavericks are improving .
“This is the first year in five years (since Moose Jaw has had a U18 team) since we’ve had a U18 team. We’ve got four or five girls from in town and we have quite a few girls from out of town. We have four or five girls from Mossbank and Assiniboia area. So they are new to the team this year so we are just trying to gel as a team.”
Next year Wilson said the team should be stronger and given the number of girls in lower divisions Moose Jaw should have a U18 Mavericks team for the next few years.
“We will build this program there is a lot of girls coming up behind.”
