Wayway-Winkler a great series

Ten games into this year’s Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs, and it’s clearer than ever that this year’s tournament to determine a league champion will be tighter than ever.
Consider that after the first 10 games, every team had won at least one game. Entering Tuesday’s action, Portage and Waywayseecappo held a 2-1 series lead over Swan Valley and Winkler respectively, while Dauphin and OCN, as well as Selkirk and the Winnipeg Saints, were tied 1-1.
Five of those 10 games went into overtime, and eight of the first 10 games were decided by a single goal.
The most exciting series so far? The Waywayseecappo Wolverines vs. the Winkler Flyers.
The road team won the first three games in this series. And the last two featured dramatic goals to tie the game to send it into overtime.
In Game 2, the hometown Wolverines held leads of 3-0 and 4-2, but Winkler tied the game, and later, the series, thanks to two third-period goals.
First, Michael Wilgosh sliced the lead to 4-3 six minutes into the third period. Then, Matt Loopkey scored with only 11 seconds remaining to tie the game. Teammate Brad Haber scored at 10:44 of the second overtime to lift the Flyers to their first win of the series.
In Game 3, though, the Wolverines must have set some sort of record for the fastest, most dramatic goals in a game.
Trailing 2-0 late in third period on the road, the Wolverines finally got back in the game when Shane Goodrunning scored a power-play goal with 3:56 to play.
The Flyers, though, appeared to break the backs of the Wolverines, as Jake Rombach scored a power-play for the home team to restore the two-goal lead with only 1:23 left to play.
Then the unthinkable happened. First, Wayway’s Dave Williams scored with eight seconds remaining in the game to cut the lead to 3-2.
Too little, too late?
Not a chance. Incredibly, Ryan Duhaime scored with one second remaining – and seven seconds after Duhaime’s goal, to send the game into overtime.
Goodrunning completed the improbable comeback, handing Winkler their second devastating loss on home ice in these playoffs.
The Wolverines, who were the fifth-seeded team in the Sher-Wood Division, are giving the No. 1 seeded team in the Addison Division all they can handle. Having a crossover team defeat the top seed in another division would be the biggest upset since the fourth-seeded Portage Terriers ended the reign of the powerhouse OCN Blizzard with a four-game sweep years ago.
• Portage Terriers’ netminder Jason Kasdorf has been named the first MJHL Player of the Week for the playoffs, Commissioner Kim Davis announced.
Kasdorf is in a real goaltender’s duel with Swan Valley’s Jayson Argue. After three games, Kasdorf sports a 1.14 GAA and a .949 save percentage. Argue, meanwhile, has a 1.70 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
Kasdorf is no stranger to awards. He was recently named to the MJHL’s second team All-Star squad, has been outstanding all season, reflected in his 24-10 record, 2.53 GAA and .912 save percentage.
Also considered for this award was 18-year-old forward T.J. Constant of the OCN Blizzard and 19-year-old forward Shane Goodrunning of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.
• The first suspension of the playoffs has already been handed out.
J.B. Voyer of the OCN Blizzard received a two game suspension for a gross misconduct penalty he was assessed on March 4 versus the Dauphin Kings.