MJHL's Winkler Flyers Gear up for Centennial Cup

Hi there! Winkler Flyers gear up for centennial cup after 32-year absence

In 1992, the Winkler Flyers lost in the Canadian National Junior A Championship to Thunder Bay by a score of 10-1. 32 years later they are making their return and will represent the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) at the Centennial Cup National Championship in Oakville, Ontario this week.

On paper, the road to the Centennial Cup may look like a breeze for Winkler, but it was far from it. After taking down a mighty three-seed Portage Terriers in five games, the Flyers had their work cut out for them in beating the Virden Oil Capitals in six. 

The Flyers and Oil Caps had three games go to overtime in the semi-final, with the deciding Game 6 being finished early into the fourth overtime by Jakob Jones. 

The Flyers’ regular season was just as strong as their gritty postseason run, posting a 42-11-5 record - good enough for second in the league behind those same Pistons.

Local Winkler product Trent Penner and Brandonite Dalton Andrew have been the two mainstays for the  dominant Flyers offense over the past three seasons, practically doubling their point totals from the previous season each year they have been in Winkler.

Andrew was named the MJHL’s top scorer in the regular season with 43 goals and 82 points, while Penner was named MJHL MVP with 29 goals and 78 points. They were also tied for the MJHL playoff point lead with 14 points in 15 games.

In the regular season, the Flyers had one of the most dominant duos between the pipes in all of Junior A Hockey. Malachi Klassen posted a .917 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average in 36 games played, while rookie goaltender Liam Ernst had an outstanding first season with a .928 save percentage and 1.78 goals against average in 22 games.

Even the Flyers’ talent behind the bench was unmatched. Justin Falk, Ryan White and Eric Fehr have a combined 1,337 games of NHL experience to their names. After the COVID-19 shortened season, Falk was brought on as the assistant coach and general manager, before being promoted to GM and head coach after a short three months. White came over in the summer of 2021, while Fehr joined the Flyers as the director of player development in June 2022.

For the last 51 years, Junior A teams across Canada have played for the Centennial Cup. The Flyers will look to bring the first Junior A championship back to Manitoba since Portage did it in 2015, doing so as the host club. 

The Centennial Cup runs from Thursday May 9 to Sunday May 19 in Oakville. The Flyers will play four preliminary games against four other CJHL league champions.

Winkler Flyers preliminary round schedule: (Rankings according to CJHL Top-20 Power Rankings)

Winkler (4) will head into the Centennial Cup as the second highest ranked team behind the top ranked team in Canada the Collingwood Blues, OJHL (1).

Manitobans on Sioux Lookout:

No. 22 Owen Riffel - G:36 A:31 P:67 (Onanole, MB)

No. 14 Ty Lone - G:7 A:8 P:15 (Boissevain, MB)

No. 16 Ty Kirk - G:6 A:3 P:9 (Hamiota, MB)

No. 23 Ty Love - G:2 A:3 P:5 (Miami, MB)

Saturday May 11, 12:00 PM EDT
Melfort Mustangs, SJHL (11) @ Winkler Flyers (4)

Manitobans on Melfort:

No. 22 Logan Belton - G:21 A:26 P:47 (Winnipeg, MB)

No. 55 Bo Eisner - G:2 A:6 P:8 (Swan RIver, MB)

Monday, May 13, 7:30 PM EDT
Oakville Blades, OJHL (Host) @ Winkler Flyers (4)

No Manitobans on Oakville

Tuesday, May 14, 7:30 PM EDT
Winkler Flyers (4) @ Miramichi Timberwolves/Summerside Capitals, MHL (Unranked)

No. 11 Trentyn Crane - G:22 A:52 P:74 (Morden, MB)

No. 3 William Irvine - G:11 A:45 P:56 (Morden, MB)