Two members of the Yorkton Terriers earned Player of the Month honours for November in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Veteran Devin Peters earned Goaltender of the Month, and defenceman Davis Vandane has been awarded Rookie of the Month.
Peters, who hails from St. Andrews, MB., had a big month for the Terriers who lead the SJHL's Sherwood Conference.
In 10-games, Peters went 7-2-1 posting a goals against average of 2.58.
In the case of Vandane, who has pedigree behind him as he was one of the top defencemen in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League last season for his hometown Yorkton Harvest.
After being sent to the Terriers from the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades, the 6-foot-4 and 200-pound rearguard had an immediate impact. Vandane, 18, had four goals and eight assists in 12 games in November.
Peters, who earned monthly honours last season too, said awards are "nice", but they do not come without help.
"The team help me out a lot. They keep guys away from the net so it's a lot of shots from the outside."
The Terriers are leading their Conference and Peters is winning games in spite of having a major turn over on the blueline with four regulars from last season either traded or in the WHL. Peters said the team has adapted.
"The leadership in the room has really helped," he said, adding the defence "is playing great right now."
Peters said with the changes on defence there was a period of adjustment.
"It's a little different. There are systems you work on with the 'D'," he said, adding as personnel changes, so too do the systems. "But I have gotten used to the way they play."
Vandane is among the new faces. Peters said he is "a great two-way player," who is a "big body out there."
Vandane himself agreed his size is an asset he uses to his advantage.
"I may not be able to manhandle every guy out there, but I'm big enough to hold my own," he said.The size is helping Vandane get some points.
"As a kid I always like to get the points. What kid doesn't?" he noted. "I kind of like to base my game around it."
Still Vandane said he just wants to contribute to the team "in any way possible. I was to fill any role they see suited for me."
As for earning Rookie of the Month honours, Vandane said it was unexpected.
"It was a shocker to win it, but at the same time I was pretty excited to win an award like that in this league," he said.
Vandane said there was an adjustment period after being sent down from the WHL.
"I thought the first couple of games it took a while to get used to things," he said.
However, winning does cure most things in sport.
"Being on a first place club and knowing the team has a chance to win every night helps," said Vandane.
As for the team's early success, Vandane said it is team commitment to doing what is takes to win."We work hard as a group to make sure everybody is doing their little jobs," he said.
Peters said the talent was there to make winning happen.
"I'm not surprised at all," he said. "At the start of the year I told my dad we'd be a strong, competitive team."
Peters said he made that assessment based on experience gained playing into the league finals in the spring.
"The playoff run helped out a lot with the maturity of the players."
The maturity seems to be manifesting itself in a more potent offence, something Peters said as a goaltender he is happy to see.
"It's nice having that little extra scoring," he said. " It takes the pressure off my shoulders. I can let a goal in and know the guys will go out and get two more."
And, while the team succeeds, Peters said he hopes his own performance will garner some interest from American college scouts.
"Hopefully some team outside Junior will notice and start talking to me," he said.
