Six days after Meota put ten on the scoreboard against Maymont, they hosted the eighth place Cut Knife Colts at the Civic Centre.
Cut Knife has had their struggles connecting on offence, sitting second last in the SPHL for scoring, with just 11 in five games.
Although the struggle to score wouldn’t continue, it wouldn’t be enough in an 8-6 Combines win.
It wouldn’t take long for Meota to take the lead.
Just 30 seconds in, Brandon Sentes took a Bo Gervais pass and scored on Meota’s first chance of the game. Slicing around the right faceoff dot, what looked like a shot that wouldn’t do much damage ended up slipping through the wickets of Josh Thomas.
Cut Knife came back to tie it at one. Teddy Bear scored his first of three on the night after crossing the blue line with a bomb of a slap shot through traffic that skipped off the glove of Dallas Wright. Kenton Albert and Ashton Hewson collaborated on the tying mark.
The Colts then took the lead with a cross crease feed from the right half wall that found the stick of Bear, deflecting it past the outstretched pad of Dallas Wright.
Two quick unanswered goals from the Combines made it 3-2.
Brody Tatchell tied the game up three minutes later taking matters into his own hands. After weaving past two defenders on the left wing he snapped a quick-release wrist shot far side and over the shoulder of Thomas.
Tyson Knight and Gervais then came barrelling down the ice on a two on one, finishing off the play with a cross ice pass through the slot and into the back of the net.
The Colts continued to go back and forth with Meota, scoring two goals in 30 seconds.
Kenton Albert, who had a big four-point night for Cut Knife, chipped in with a blocker side snipe. Albert took the pass from Bear from behind the net and was left all alone.
Bear would score his third of the game, continuing to exchange shots with Meota. Albert returned the favour, feeding him a pass from the right half wall before Bear wristed one just under the glove of Wright to restore the Colts lead.
Meota came busting back with a beautiful tic-tac-toe pass from the blue line to the left hash mark, then a cross crease pass found Michael Pylypow who scored his third of the season. Riley Albert and Daxen Collins provided the spark on the goal, tying it at four.
The Combines took the lead minutes after, with a shot that rebounded off the mask of Thomas and onto the stick of Brett Miller for his team-high ninth point.
Brody Tatchell had a night to remember, finishing with a hat trick and four points, while Gervais and Burt finished with three helpers each.
From there, they wouldn’t look back, now having won three of four, Meota is one of the hottest teams in the SPHL.
The Combines have a back-to-back series against Cut Knife, playing them again Tuesday.
