The Canucks wrapped up a very successful month of November with a 3-2 win over the Stonewall Jets. Forward John McCammon and goaltender Nathan Cvar led the way, as McCammon had a pair of goals in the game and Cvar stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced.
After that the Canucks looked to continue their success into the month of December. That got started off on the right foot, as a depleted Canucks squad was able to defeat the rival Charleswood Hawks 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 2.
Wyatt Kemball led the way with a goal and an assist, and Tristan Ezako scored the overtime winner. Tyler Wiess picked up the win in net, stopping 18 of 19 shots.
After the overtime win, the Canucks moved on to a tough stretch of games that began with a visit to the north end of the city to play the Raiders on Dec. 7. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be for the Canucks, who fell 5-2.
Despite the loss, John McCammon continued his solid play, tallying a goal and an assist.
Next up was a match-up with the Transcona Railer Express on Dec. 9 that kicked off a three game home swing for the Canucks. A balanced attack, good goaltending, and solid defensive play led the Canucks to a 4-2 win. McCammon and the newly signed Dylan Burton led the way offensively, both putting up two points.
Cvar picked up his 8th win of the season, turning aside 26 shots in the victory.
This lengthy stretch of games wrapped up on Friday, Dec. 14, when the Canucks had the tough task of shutting down the Pembina Valley Twisters, who came into the game with an 11-0-1 mark in their past 12 games.
The Canucks, as it turns out, were more than up to the task as they held the Twisters’ high-powered offence to just two goals on 23 shots. Tyler Meixner led the way offensively, scoring a hat trick. Wyatt Kemball (2A), Dylan Burton (1G 1A) and Cole Chicoine (2A) also had multi-point games.
After this stretch of games, the Canucks have a 16-5-2 record, which is good enough for third place in the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League standings. They are just one point behind the Twisters and Raiders.
Chalk Talk Three Stars:
3 – Wyatt Kemball: The captain continues to put up the points and had a goal and five assists during this five game stretch. This season, Kemball has 12 goals and 27 points in 23 games.
2 – Nathan Cvar: Cvar continues to provide steady goaltender for the Canucks. He started three games in this stretch, went 3-0-0 while only allowing six goals and putting up a .926 save percentage. On the season, Cvar is 9-3-0 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average. He leads the league in goals against average for goalies with 10 or more starts and is second in save percentage.
1 – John McCammon: McCammon has hit his offensive stride over the past couple weeks, putting up four goals and two assists in the past five games. He is now up to 10 goals and 19 points in 21 games played this season.
What’s Next?
The Canucks host the Ft. Garry/Ft. Rouge Twins on Tuesday, Dec. 18 before heading to River East to take on the Royal Knights on Friday, Dec. 21. They will wrap up their 2018 portion of the schedule when they host the St. Vital Victorias on Dec. 23.