The Parkland U18 Rangers have had some exciting and solid performances throughout the season. However, the team struggled to find a way to put two straight solid games together. That was until this past weekend when the team did just that.

On their annual trip up north, the Rangers found themselves on the ice for two games against the Norman Northstars. Taggert Plouffe was the hero in game one as he scored two goals, one of which was the overtime winner.

On Sunday afternoon, Liam Jardine took over. The 17-year-old from Neepawa made 33 saves as the Rangers completed the weekend sweep with a 2-0 win. It was the first time this season that Parkland was able to string together two straight wins.

The last time the Rangers won two straight games was last year when they beat the Thrashers on November 4 and the Hawks on November 11. 

"That was a really important weekend for us, it was a good way to get the ball rolling and the guys have a taste for winning now," said Jardine. "Everyone always likes the feeling of winning more than losing so hopefully, we can use that as fuel going forward."

Liam's shutout was his first-ever as a member of the Rangers. He made eight saves in the first period, 13 in the second, and 12 in the third. Not only was the shutout Liam's first with the team, but it was also his first win with the club.

"It felt great, it felt really good going into the last couple of minutes and I fed off that," added Jardine. "I really wanted to push myself to get a shutout. Now that I have it under my belt, I feel like the rest of the season will be easier."

Jardine and the rest of the Rangers return to the ice on Wednesday. They welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings to town at 7:30. The game will be played at Credit Union Place. 

"It should be a good game, we had a good game against them last time," continued Jardine.

Parkland beat them 3-2 in a shootout back on October 30. With their two wins over the weekend, the Rangers are just six points back of a playoff spot. After Wednesday's game against Brandon, the team plays against Southwest on Friday and the Bruins on Saturday.

That's followed by two home games against the winless Kenora Thistles.

"I feel like we do have a playoff team this year," concluded Jardine. "We just have to work super hard for the rest of the season and play a complete 60 minutes and if we do that, we can have the success I believe."