It’s time for another Three Stars of the Week, which is brought to you by Paull Funeral Home and Crematorium. Every Monday we will be awarding three players who had a big week and giving them stars. We will be doing this week-to-week with points being collected throughout the season. The top three will players will be recognized and presented an award during our final home game of the regular season.
The Swan Valley Stampeders went 3/3 last week, outscoring their opponents 17-5.
Two major things happened last week, that being Swan Valley went from 5th to 2nd back down to 3rd in the MGEU West Division. All that hard work pulled them back into the playoff picture and now have games in hand on every team jockeying for a playoff spot in the West.
The second, the number 16. 16 Stampeders collected at least one point in their 9-2 win over Neepawa Wednesday, Feb. 15. 16 played another huge role in Saturday’s contest against Niverville. Swan Valley used 16 skaters for over half the game after Hayden Pimm and #16 Justin Keck left the game. Sunday’s game took 2 hours and 16 minutes to play and Winkler had 16 total penalties minutes. Weird?
Swan Valley snapped their three game losing streak with a 9-2 win over the Neepawa Titans Wednesday, Feb. 15 in front of a smaller crowd at the Centennial Arena. 16/18 Stampeders chipped in offensively in a dominating performance on home ice. Kobe Grant stopped 37/39 shots he faced for his 17th win of the season.
The Stampeders followed that up with a gutsy performance on the road Saturday night in Niverville, defeating the Nighthawks 5-3 with 16 skaters. Hayden Pimm was ejected from the game on a hit-from-behind early in the first period while Justin Keck left the game in the early stages of the second period and did not return. Swan Valley dug deep and found a way to gain two points. Loic Mainguy-Crepault was solid in net, stopping 22/25 shots for his eighth win of the season.
The Stampeders closed out the week with a 3-0 win over the Winkler Flyers Sunday afternoon. The first period was not the Stampeders strongest, trailing in the shot department 22-8, but the score remained 0-0 due to Kobe Grant standing tall in net. Trey Sauder, Landen Gulutzan and Warren Marcotte all found the back of the net in the second period to help their team claim victory. Grant was the story of the game, stopping 47 shots for his second shutout of the season.
The three stars of the week will close down in three weeks in order to hand out the top three awards March 17. So, over the next three weeks, DOUBLE points will be awarded.
The “Three Stars of the Week” is brought to you by Paull Funeral Home & Crematorium, and will be awarded week-to-week with points being collected throughout the season. The top three will players will be recognized at the end of the season.
Three stars point system is as follows:
1st Star = 3 points
2nd Star = 2 points
3rd Star = 1 point
Check back every Monday for the Paull Funeral Home & Crematorium Three Stars of the week.
THREE STARS (Feb. 12 – Feb. 19)
3rd Star
Jakob Jones had another enormous week for his team collecting five points in three games played. The 19-year-old from Vernon, BC picked up an assist in their 9-2 win over Neepawa Tuesday night, scored two goals and added an assist in a 5-3 win over Niverville and followed that up with an assist in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Winkler. The 5’10” 175lbs forward sits first in team points with 53 (23G, 30A).
2nd Star
Trey Sauder continues to find the score sheet and has been one of the few consitant pieces for the Stampeders all season. The 19-year-old Swan River, MB product collected six points in three games last week. The 6’0” 190lbs power forward picked up a goal and two assists against Neepawa, added an assist in their win Saturday night and followed that up with a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 3-0 win. The local product sits third in team scoring with 50 Points (20G, 30A).
1st Star
Kobe Grant has been sensational as of late, earning him the first star of the week. Grant back-stopped his team to a 9-2 win over the Neepawa Titans, stopping 37/39 shots he faced Tuesday Feb. 15. The 20-year-old followed that up with a dominating, 47 save shutout performance Sunday, Feb. 19 against the Winkler Flyers. Grant currently sits first overall in the MJHL with a .931 SV%.
Point Leaders
20 – Jakob Jones
16 – Trey Sauder
10 – Collin Jennings
10 – Kobe Grant
9 – Justin Keck
7 – Adam Rajsigl
5 – Alex Walicki
5 – Noah Wilson
5- Josh Danis
4 – Myles Mason
4 – Warren Marcotte
3 – Loic Mainguy-Crepault
2 – Ashton Fishley
2 – Griffin Ayotte
1 – Darius Makse
1 – Tyler Park