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Combines dominate against Beaver Blues

If followers of the Saskatchewan Prairie Hockey League weren’t quite convinced by the Meota Combines, they have certainly taken notice now following a pair of big wins for the team.
Combines Beaver Blues
Meota Combines goaltender Josh Alook prepares to make a save on Battleford Beaver Blues forward Kevin Bendall at the Battleford Arena Friday night. Photo by Lucas Punkari

If followers of the Saskatchewan Prairie Hockey League weren’t quite convinced by the Meota Combines, they have certainly taken notice now following a pair of big wins for the team.

After knocking off the previously undefeated Hafford Hawks by a score of 5-2 at the Civic Centre last weekend, the Combines followed that performance up in style Friday night at the Battleford Arena with an impressive 8-1 triumph over the Battleford Beaver Blues.

“Even though we had a really good showing tonight, we were missing some of our key guys like Blake [Tatchell], Brody [Tatchell] and Riley [Albert] from the lineup,” Combines forward Aaron Cadrin said.

“For us to come in here and have guys on our third and fourth lines step up into big roles, I think it says a lot about our group and we’ve made a big statement.”

The Combines were relentless from the start Friday as they raced out to a 5-0 lead after 25 minutes of play and silenced the Beaver Blues fans in attendance.

“We caught them kind of flat-footed and we pretty much took off from there,” Combines forward Michael Pylypow said.

“That entire game was a total team effort. We were all working hard and we also killed off a lot of penalties, which definitely sparked the guys and gave us some momentum as they tried to claw their way back.”

Daxen Collins led the way on offence for the Combines with two goals and an assist, while Pylypow potted home a pair of goals.

Scott Maunula, Vince Sauvie, Troy Watt and Cardin also scored for the visitors.

Brent Salzl had the lone goal for the Beaver Blues, who dropped a 7-6 decision to the host Radisson Wheatkings Saturday and now sit third in the standings with a 9-4 record after losing their last three games.

Although the 11-2 Combines are tied with the 11-1 Hawks for first in the SPHL standings, they still have three games left on their schedule before they know what awaits them in the playoffs.

After facing the Hawks in Hafford Friday, they’ll travel to Radisson to face the Wheatkings Saturday before wrapping up their regular season slate on Friday, Feb. 2 against the Maymont Settlers.

“We just need to keep the same effort level going here in these last three games,” Pylypow said.

“That Hafford game is going to be a big one of course, but if we can play like we have been lately, we should have a chance of getting home ice advantage for the playoffs,” Cadrin added.

Meanwhile, the Beaver Blues will be hosting the Shellbrook Silvertips at the Battleford Arena Saturday at 8 p.m. in their last home game before the playoffs get underway early next month.