The season came to an end Wednesday for Nathan Warren and the Winkler Flyers.
They lost 6-3 to the Steinbach Pistons in Game 7 of their semifinal series in Steinbach, Man. The Pistons now advance to the league final series against the regular season champion Portage Terriers, starting Friday in Portage la Prairie. Portage qualified for the final by sweeping the Winnipeg Blues in a four-game series.
Warren, a 20-year-old goalie from Prince George, was in net for five of the six goals his team allowed Wednesday. Hayden Goderis scored 1:20 into the third period to give the Pistons a 5-3 lead and added an empty-netter late in the game to cinch the series.
The Flyers blew a 3-1 series lead, losing 4-1 in Game 5 and 7-2 in Game 6. Warren was the first star of the Game 1 on March 30 when he made 44 saves in a 1-0 shutout. The Flyers won Game 2, 3-2; lost Game 3, 6-3; and won Game 4, 3-1.
Warren was the goalie of the month in the MJHL in March, posting a 7-2-1 record with a 1.78 goals -against average, .952 save percentage and one shutout. He helped the Flyers to a 42-13-5 third-place regular season finish, 17 points behind the first-place Terriers. In 22 regular season games, the six-foot-three, 190-pound Warren compiled a 14-7-0 record with a 2.55 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.
