Jaegar Lapointe's foursome shot a 5-under 67 earlier this week at the Neepawa Golf & Country Club. With the MJHL season now just one day away, the Neepawa Titans have been very busy on the ice this week preparing for their home opener against the Kings on Friday, but they decided to hit the links for a day full of bonding.
Lapointe says the day was tremendous and it brought the team together which is extremely important. With that now in the past, all focus turns back to hockey as Neepawa looks to flip the script from the past few years.
If you combine the past three seasons, Neepawa has won just 24 games. Those games; however, were under the nickname 'Natives' but that is no longer as they changed their nickname ahead of the new season and with that name change, Lapointe believes big things are on the way. All set for his second full season with Neepawa, Lapointe is ready to get things going against the team he grew up watching in Dauphin.
"I believe we're looking pretty solid heading into the year," said Lapointe. "We're playing with a lot more speed and things are seeming to click at practice. It's safe to say that I speak for the entire team when I say Friday will be an exciting day."
On Saturday, Lapointe and the rest of the team will return to Dauphin to wrap up a weekend home-and-home with the Kings and Lapointe knows all the ins and outs of Credit Union Place. Jaegar played three seasons with the U18 Rangers and they play their home games in Dauphin. In his final season as a Ranger in the 2018-19 campaign, Lapointe averaged a point-per-game, scoring 22 times and adding up 43 points in 43 games.
"Being close to home and growing up watching them, it's always enjoyable returning to Dauphin," said Lapointe. "It's a great facility and I've had some success playing there so hoping to keep that up this season with Neepawa."
Now 20-years-old, Lapointe will be front and centre in big spots this year. In three preseason games, Lapointe scored three goals and added two assists. His three goals came in the team's preseason finale, a 7-2 win against Portage. A proven scorer with great hands, Lapointe is putting pressure on himself this year to succeed offensively and be the sparkplug to the team's offence.
"It's all about playing with more confidence, I know the speed of this league being in it for a couple of years," ended Lapointe. "It's always in the back of my mind to put the puck in the back of the net, I mean who doesn't like to score."
Darnell Duff will chat with Jaegar during the second intermission of Friday's broadcast. You can hear the game right here on 730CKDM with the pregame show set for 7:15.
