By Derek Holtom /

Dauphin Kings

Talk about a week to remember.

Dauphin Kings forward Ryan Dreger wasn’t exactly setting the league on fire in the early going this season. Entering the final week of October, Dreger had a modest three goals and five assists in 16 games.

Playing on a new line with Cam McGeough and Shane Luke, Dreger caught fire, scoring nine goals and adding three assist in three games, earning him the MJHL Old Dutch Player of the Week Honours.

The outburst was part of a four-game winning streak, which brought the Dauphin Kings to within two points of the Portage Terriers for top spot in the Sher-Wood Division.

Neepawa Natives

The Neepawa Natives made several moves at the trade deadline last year to bolster their roster for this season. So far, the moves have not paid off as expected, as the Natives sit in the basement of the Sher-Wood Division.

Neepawa has only five wins in 20 starts, better than only the Beausejour Blades of the Addison Division.

The Natives, though, have yet to clash with the Swan Valley Stampeders, the team directly ahead of them in the standings. Those games could go a long way in seeing if one of the bottom team teams can challenge for a playoff spot.

Shane Jury has been one of only a few bright spots for the Natives this year. He had 10 goals and 23 points at start of November.

OCN Blizzard

The OCN Blizzard were a real surprise early in the season, racking up several wins to hang with the top teams in the Sher-Wood Division.

However, the Blizzard lost six straight in late October/early November, dropping them to fourth place in the division while allowing the Swan Valley Stampeders to close the gap on the final playoff spot in the division.

The Blizzard also made headlines in October for something the entire community can take pride in.

Members of the team had their heads shaved as part of a Cut for Cancer event.

“I’m very proud of our guys,“ Blizzard GM/head coach Doug Hedley says of the Cut for Cancer. “They decided to take the initiative to do something for cancer.”

The Blizzard are following in the footsteps of the Neepawa Natives, who used pink stick tape during games last January to raise money for breast cancer.

Portage Terriers

The Portage Terriers continue to be the class of the MJHL, as they put together a six-game winning streak into November, their longest of the season.

With only three regulation losses in 20 games this year, the Terriers are getting it done at both ends of the ice.

Terriers netminder Bryan Mountain is playing like a mountain of a man. He leads the MJHL with a 2.11 GAA, is second in wins (behind Dauphin’s Adrian Rubeniuk), and has the second best save percentage at .922 (behind only Waywayseecappo’s Jamie Janzen at .926).
 
Swan Valley Stampeders

The Stampeders did not celebrate a victory on home ice until Oct. 29 when they beat the visiting OCN Blizzard 4-3. It’s the longest it’s ever taken the Stampeders to win their first home game of the year.

Swan Valley has been improving lately, but scoring is their biggest challenge. Myles Stevens has been carrying the load, especially after 20-year-old Craig Cornelsen had his jaw broken against the Portage Terriers.

Defensively, netminder Chris Ward continues to post solid numbers, and as a unit, the Stampeders boast the best penalty kill unit in the MJHL.

Waywayseecappo Wolverines

On paper the Wolverines looked as though they might struggle this season. But that’s why they play the games.

Waywayseecappo remains in the hunt for top spot in the Sher-Wood Division. That includes another close game where they pushed Dauphin to overtime on Nov. 4, leaving them only six points out of top spot in the division.

Wayway was also ranked in the top 15 in Canada for the first time in franchise history. It’s another strong sign the days of them barely being able to ice a full team are far behind them.

Defensively, only the Portage Terriers have allowed less goals this year. The Wolverines have bought into head coach and general manager Barry Butler’s philosophy, and it shows.