Neepawa goaltender Mason Lobreau stands tall for Titans

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This article was published 30/03/2024 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mason Lobreau knew how badly Neepawa wanted playoff hockey back in town and decided two home games weren’t enough.

The Brandonite played one of his best games of the year Thursday night, making 40 saves as the Titans dropped the Virden Oil Capitals 4-1 to tie their Manitoba Junior Hockey League West Division semifinal 2-2 at Yellowhead Centre.

“It felt good. The crowd got us going and the [defencemen] limited most of the shots to the outside,” Lobreau said. “It was 41 shots but I think the D did a good job keeping them all to the outside so it was good.

“They’re just trying to let me see the puck. If I can see the puck, for the most part, I’m going to stop it. That’s what we’ve been talking about is trying to move bodies out of the way because they like to throw bodies in front of the net.”

He saw lots of Oil Kings forward Grady Lane out front of his crease trying to screen him throughout the game.

Lobreau said the key play on his end of the ice was a scrum in front of the net late in the second period. After a few blue-liners blocked shots, Lobreau secured the puck and kept the game tied before John Baird, Dawson Andries and Hayden Stocks scored three unanswered goals in the final frame.

Neepawa’s first playoff series since 2017 is now a best-of-three. It shifts back to Tundra Oil & Gas Place on Sunday at 7 p.m., with Game 6 in Neepawa at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, the Oil Caps will host Game 7 on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Virden has been the better team on the shot clock, leading three of the four games by at least 10 in this department.

Titans head coach and general manager Ken Pearson doesn’t mind. As long as they’re the right kind of shots, he trusts the 19-year-old goaltender.

“We gave him the ball last year late in the year and were looking at him to be our starting guy for the season. He came out and played really well for us at the start,” Pearson said.

“He got an unfortunate injury where he was out close to a month but he came back stronger and refreshed. Both him and [fellow Brandonite] KC [Couckuyt] played some really good hockey for us down the road.

“Mason is taking things over here with the injury to KC, and throughout the last part of the season and into the playoffs, gives us a chance to win every night.”

“They’re just trying to let me see the puck. If I can see the puck, for the most part, I’m going to stop it. That’s what we’ve been talking about is trying to move bodies out of the way because they like to throw bodies in front of the net.”– Mason Lobreau

Couckuyt was cleared to return from his three-week absence due to a lower-body injury after Game 3 and was the backup on Thursday, restoring the Wheat City tandem that pushed each other all season.

“It’s awesome. He’s one of my really good friends and we compete really hard every day at practice. It makes us both better,” Lobreau said.

Lobreau finished the regular season with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage while Couckuyt, 18, posted 3.75 and .893. They worked with goaltending coach Devon Fordyce, who played for the MJHL’s OCN Blizzard and Winkler Flyers after a brief stint in the Western Hockey League in Prince George.

Lobreau played 34 games, going 16-17-1-0 with three shutouts and four wins when he faced 40 or more shots.

“The reps have helped a lot, seeing different things and being more confident already having a year under my belt,” Lobreau said. “Being able to play a lot of games last year, my first year, really helped me be more confident. Becoming a better leader to also help out my defencemen has helped me.”

SPECIAL SEASON

It’s naturally a memorable year for Pearson, reaching the playoffs for the first time in his current role.

The biggest reason for it, however, has nothing to do with on-ice success. Pearson points to the Titans Boys Fit Club, where his players spend Mondays doing various non-hockey activities with kids in the community.

He highlights their eagerness to help with minor hockey and grow the game.

And the community has responded. Someone posted a message saying they had a 56-passenger bus for Game 3 in Virden and it took less than three hours to fill.

“The community’s really gotten behind this club,” Pearson said. “The boys, all their work throughout the regular season, they’ve really seen that community spirit come back to them. I think that’s something we’ve talked about wanting to do here and it’s nice to see the support for the boys.”

The night they clinched their playoff spot was bitter-sweet since it happened on a loss to Steinbach while Waywayseecappo dropped a must-win game to OCN.

The Titans quickly grew excited that week and the buzz carried into Game 2, a 3-2 double-overtime thriller.

Pearson felt the 6-1 and 6-3 score lines in Games 1 and 3, respectively, were “misleading,” and a few bounces could have turned the tide.

“I tell the guys, it doesn’t matter if it’s 6-3, 6-1, 3-2 in overtime … once that game is over we put it behind us and move on to the next game,” Pearson said.

Added Lobreau: “When we go down, we always have a good pushback in the second game or the next game.”

At some point, however, the Titans have to get two in a row against a powerhouse Virden team, which went 40-12-3-3 and scored 229 goals to lead the West Division.

“We just gotta stick to our game. We can’t make mistakes that allow them to turn the puck over and come at us on odd-man rushes,” Lobreau said.

“We have to play simple, get pucks in, get pucks out and just play below their goal-line. That’s where we’ve found the most success for us. We’ve got to win our games at home and try to steal one in Virden.”

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