The Norman Wild started off 2017 with a successful road trip Jan. 5-7, beating the Central Plains Capitals in back-to-back games on the second and third legs after dropping the first game of the New Year in overtime to the Eastman Selects.
Megan Quesnel had a pair of goals to pace the Wild to a 3-0 shutout of the Capitals in Portage la Prairie Jan. 7, while Brittany Johnson had the Wild’s other goal. Goaltender Shayna Moore made 21 saves to prove the difference in a game in which both teams had 21 shots on their opponent’s net.
The Wild had two third-period goals to claim their first win of 2017 on Jan. 6 after skating to a 2-2 draw with Central Plains over the first 40 minutes, with both teams scoring a single goal in each of the first two periods. Annaliese Meier was on fire offensively for the Wild in that game, scoring three of her team’s goals with Quesnel adding the fourth. Marley Quesnel picked up the win in in net.
The Wild opened the road trip against the Selects in Steinbach on Jan. 5, scoring two goals over the final 40 minutes to earn a trip to sudden death, only to fall one goal short of victory in a 3-2 decision. Kylie Lesuk had two goals for Eastman and Chelsea Dinnin the other. Meier started off 2017 by scoring both of the Wild goals against the Selects in the game. Moore absorbed the loss in net despite making 42 saves as her team was outshot 45-20.
The wins and overtime loss improved the Wild’s season record to 7-13-1, good for 15 points and sixth place in the league, six points ahead of the seventh-place Capitals and nine behind the 10-7-4 Selects.
The Wild take on the Winnipeg Avros in Cross Lake Jan. 14-15 before hitting the road for three more games Jan. 20-22. They will conclude the regular season at home Feb. 10-11 when they host the Pembina Valley Hawks in Thompson.
