Manitoba Junior Hockey League action is back at the Yellowhead Centre on Tuesday night as the Neepawa Titans open up the second half of the season on home ice against the Selkirk Steelers.
The Steelers roster looks quite different than it did just a few days ago as they have gone into selling mode ahead of the trade deadline. They dealt Eric Krywy to Waywayseecappo and Ryan Ostermann to the Winnipeg Blues. The Titans; meanwhile, have been quiet with one week until the deadline.
It'll be Selkirk's first game since dropping their final game of 2021 against the Kings while Neepawa won their last game of 2021 against the Winnipeg Freeze, 5-2. Jaegar Lapointe says the group is ready to go after a much-deserved Christmas break.
"We went over some videos and everyone is ready to go," said Lapointe. "Everyone is really excited, we know Selkirk will be tough even with them making some trades."
Neepawa has spent time outside of the top four in the West Division and they have also spent time inside the top 4 and entering Tuesday's game, they are on the inside. At 11-13-2-4, the Titans are fourth in the division and they're only two points back of Virden for third. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs. Two points on Tuesday night could go a long way in Neepawa creating some space for themselves as the push for a playoff spot amplifies with just more than two months left in the regular season.
"It's been up and down all season but we really put together our best hockey of the year down the stretch before Christmas," said Lapointe. "We just have to build off that and keep it going here, it's always harder to win games after Christmas."
The Ste. Rose native who has played all of his junior action with Neepawa is well on his way to putting up a career-high in points. With 15 goals and eight assists, Lapointe's 23 points are just two fewer than his current career high which he posted in the 2019-20 season with 25 points. He's currently tied for fourth in team scoring but Lapointe knows he has a lot more to offer.
"I'm going to show that I can do a lot more, I think I should have done a lot better in the first half," said Lapointe. "I want to lead this team, we have a great group of guys and I want to lead them."
