Eight-goal outburst for Nibinamik Wolves’ Yellowhead in B-side

Ezra Yellowhead, a centreman for the Nibinamik Wolves, dominated the start, finish and most of the play in-between.
Yellowhead opened the scoring in the B-side championship game at the Northern Bands Hockey Tournament with a low shot that found its way through the stick blade of Silas Keeper, goalie for the Pikangikum Rez 208 Braves.
Then, with his team up 2-1, Yellowhead went on a remarkable scoring spree that began late in the first period and continued into the third. During that span Yellowhead scored six consecutive Nibinamik goals, in just about every way possible: unleashing an overpowering slapshot, cleaning up rebound garbage, finishing a passing play and even banking the puck past Keeper from behind the net.
Only one of those goals came in the second period, however, when the Braves scored twice to hold on to some hope.
“It was just frustration I guess, blaming each other,” Nibinamik coach Richard Roundhead said of his team’s stalled offence.
Still with a comfortable 7-3 lead, “We came into the dressing room and talked about the second period and tried to change everything for that last period,” Roundhead said. “We put in a defensive style – the third forward staying back.”
That helped keep the Braves in check until the game was out of reach.
Not surprisingly, Yellowhead finished the scoring for the Wolves – his eighth goal of the game – on a pass from Marcus Oskineegish, who had four assists.
Brian Keeper and Vernie Turtle each scored twice for Pikangikum.
The run-and-gun game, which started at high noon Sunday, ended in Nibinamik’s favour by a score of 11-6.
Afterwards, Yellowhead complimented Roundhead’s teaching style as a coach. But while Roundhead stressed defensive play for the third period, Yellowhead didn’t forget his offensive role: “just kept shooting the puck in the net.”