THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. – The Winkler Flyers (MJHL) rode the strength of four first period goals as they went on to defeat the Thief River Falls Norskies of the Superior International Junior Hockey League 5-2 Saturday night in a Canadian Junior Hockey League exhibition contest at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The visiting Flyers were the first to strike ,8:13 into the contest, on a Trent Penner marker.
Answering back just 52 seconds later, the Norskies drew level as Bryce Johnson finished off the work of teammates Joe Collins and Mason McIntosh.
Regrouping, Winkler struck for a trio of tallies in just over a five-minute span later in the frame to take a 4-1 lead after one on goals from Alex Cattani, via the power play, along with Everett Bestland and Matty Harrold at even strength.
Thief River Falls cut into the deficit with the lone offensive effort of the middle stanza thanks to McIntosh, who earned his second point of the night.
However, the Flyers’ Will Irvine added some insurance in the third to round out the night’s scoring.
Darren Luding started for Winkler and picked up the win making 11 saves on 12 shots while Carson Cherepak handled 11 of 12 in 30 minutes of relief.
Tristan Gillespie got the nod in net for the Norskies and suffered the loss after give up four on 17 chances.
Seth Purcilly came in midway through the second and finished with 11 stops in playing half a game.