The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings took the ice for the first time against another team since April 27th as they hosted the Melville Millionaires for the first game of preseason action at the newly named Whitecap Resources Centre.
The Red Wings would strike first; with defenseman Sawyer Aquila wiring home a wrist shot from the point at 4:04 to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. The Mils would answer back though with under a minute to go in the first period. Forward Leo Jewitt would get the second chance opportunity past Red Wing goalie Keane Reid to tie it up 1-1 after 20 minutes of action.
The second period would see the goals dry up, as the Red Wings would kill the lone Too Many Men penalty towards the end of the second to keep it 1-1 after two periods. The third period however, the goals would come in bunches. The Red Wings would regain the lead on a tight angle shot from forward Ryder Woods at 2:55 of the third period regaining the lead 2-1. However, the Mils would take a stranglehold of the game by scoring 5 straight goals.
Forward Yibin Yoo would find the twine at 4:01 to tie it back up. Then, forward Rylan Oatman would take advantage of a bouncing puck in the slot at 7:57 to give the Millionaires the first lead of the game. Defenseman Sam Laplante would wire one home at 9:29 to extend their lead to two leading 4-2. After that, forward Alex Morrison would tuck one unassisted at 13:28 to make it a 5-2 lead for Melville. Laplante would tuck in his second of the night into the empty cage to seal it as the Melville Millionaires beat the Weyburn Red Wings 6-2.
With a plethora of new faces in the lineup for the Red Wings in this game, it was an opportunity to evaluate their talent within the system and allow some younger players a chance to fight for a roster spot come regular season. Willy Mason, assistant coach for the Red Wings, talks about what he saw on the ice tonight.
“Yeah, lots of new bodies in the lineup. Lots of guys getting their first look in the SJHL but it’s not how you start it’s how you finish so it is what it is. It's one of those games that could go either way and didn't go our way tonight. This group's been good since day one, you know, since (fall) camp. A little bit of nerves tonight, maybe at the start, but hey, that's expected and that's the way it goes. We'll just stick with the process some new faces will probably go in tomorrow, but we'll just stick with the process. We have a plan, and it's worked. We've seen that last year. So, we'll just stick with the process and go from there.”
The Red Wings will head on the road tomorrow as they’ll look for revenge at the CN Community Centre in Melville against the Millionaires before returning home next Tuesday for a home matchup against the Highway 39 rival Estevan Bruins. They’ll then wrap up the preseason on the road next Wednesday against the Estevan Bruins and get ready for the regular season home-opener on Friday, September 19th against the Yorkton Terriers.