The Yorkton Terriers have been turfed from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs.
After winning Game 1 of their Sherwood Conference semi final series with Melville, the Millionaires won four straight to take the best of seven series, including wrapping up the series Friday at the Farrell Agencies Arena in Yorkton with a decisive 7-3 victory in Game 5.
Melville scored twice before the 11-minute mark of the first to establish an early lead. Jesse Mireau and Russell Trudeau having the goals.
Zak Majkowski, with his first of the series, and Brent Struble had powerplay markers in the first to tie the game 2-2, before Trudeau gave the Millionaires a 3-2 lead with a powerplay goal of his own.
Ian McNulty made it 4-2 for the Millionaires with a powerplay marker 39-seconds into the second period, with Trudeau making it 5-2 with his hat trick goal before the period's end.
Struble would add one in the third for the Terriers, but Michael Sagen, and Colin Mospanchuk added Millionaires goals for the 7-3 win.
Dawson MacAuley started in the Terrier nets allowing three goals on 13-shots, but was pulled after the first period in favour of Warren Shymko who faced 20-shots the rest of the way, allowing four goals.
Blake Voth faced 34-shots in earning the win for the Millionaires.
Terrier Captain Riley Paterson, 20, played his last Junior game Friday. He said it was a case where the Terriers were in too deep a hole to climb out of.
"We played our hearts out this series and just fell short," he said. The Terriers lost three of the four games by a lone goal.
Paterson said the Millionaires' last minute goal in the first period was a hard one to overcome.
"That was a big goal," he said, especially after Struble and Majkowski had managed to tie it after the Terriers being down early.
"That was two leaders stepping up with some big goals," he said.
After losing games three and four in the last minute of regulation, and being down 4-2 a minute into the second period Friday, Terrier coach Trent Cassan said simply "it was just too much to overcome It was just too much in the end."
That said Cassan said the Terriers kept trying.
"Our guys had battled hard all year and never showed any kind of quit in them," he said.
Giving up the two powerplay goals straddling the first intermission hurt, but there was some irony in the situation.
"The powerplay was what got us back in the game," he reminded, but the penalties also allowed Melville the opportunity to "take over the game too."
Cassan was asked about the goaltender change. He was quick to say it was a move made to get the Terriers re-focused.
"It had nothing to do with how Dawson (MacAuley) played it was a move made just to shake the team up."
Cassan said in Game 4, in spite of it being a loss MacAuley was composed, and he made some big saves Friday too.
The Terrier coach was also supportive of what Shymko did after coming in Friday.
"Warren made some big saves too," he said.
Looking back on the series, Paterson said errors cost the Terriers.
"A few mental mistakes cost us some goals and the series," he said, adding had they not made a mistake in a game, or two, their fate would have been better.
Cassan looked at the second period Friday and commented "some guys started to panic a little bit," adding that at times throughout the series the team " tried to do too much.
"We played so well at times," he added, but late in games had some lapses. " Mistakes at key times probably hurt us the most."
While recognizing the Terriers made some mistakes, Paterson also tipped his helmet to the Millionaires.
"Melville played a great series, give them credit," he said.
On a personal note, Paterson said it was a hard night knowing his time as a Terrier was at an end.
"It was a privilege playing here," said the third-year player. " I'm going to miss it."
Paterson is one of six Terriers who finished their Junior careers Friday. The others are Struble, Keven Cann, Kelly Leismeister, Sam Rockwell, and Ryon Sookro.
In Game 4 last Wednesday the Terriers looked poised to even the series, but a last minute lapse changed their fate.
The Terriers led 1-0 after 20-minutes on a goal from Brenden Poncelet 14-seconds into the contest.
In the second Melville outscored the visitors 2-1 to tie the contest. Sean Aschim and Lucas Froese scoring for the Millionaires and Curtis Oliver replying for the Terriers.
Brent Struble gave the Terries a 3-2 lead at 7:50 of the third period, and that goal held up until McNulty tied the game at 19:16 with Millionaire goaltender Voth pulled in favour of an extra attacker.
The game looked headed to overtime, but 30-seconds later McNulty beat Terrier netminder Dawson MacAuley one more time to win the game and take a strangle hold on the series.
MacAuley faced 37 shots in the game in the losing effort, while Voth faced 36 to secure the Melville win.
