The Yorkton Terriers came away from the weekend with a victory against the Estevan Bruins.
The Terriers traveled to Estevan on Saturday night to face off against the Bruins for the fourth time this far into the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season. It was their first win against the Bruins.
The 5-4 win came at a much-needed time for the Terriers, who have had a slow start to their season.
Last Tuesday night, the Terriers played at home against the Nipawin Hawks and took a 6-2 loss, but for head coach Casey O’Brien, there was more on his mind durng that game than just hockey.
The day before, his wife Laura suffered from back-to-back heart attacks while in for regular blood work. O’Brien said it was very hard for him to step on the bench the day after his wife’s medical emergency.
“It was very emotional, and lots of things were going through my mind,” he said. “But with some family out now, things will get a little bit easier.”
O’Brien said both he and Laura are thankful for the support shown from the entire community. Laura is home now, and is recovering.
Fast forward to Saturday’s game, O’Brien said the biggest difference in their matches between the Hawks and the Bruins was discipline.
“We were able to improve on our discipline, and that was probably the deciding factor of why we lost on Tuesday,” said O’Brien.
The coach said that overall, Saturday’s game was really good for the team.
“We made some adjustments on our systems – we’re focusing more on systems rather than skill. You can see that the guys are starting to turn the corner,” he said.
A few players stood out to the coach, including Will Brochu who had two goals in Saturday’s match up, and Austen Flaman who scored his first goal with the team.
O’Brien also noted that it was goalie Nolan Maier’s first win with the Terriers.
“Getting [defenseman] Kyle Sargent back from an upper body injury and having key guys like Dexter Robinson, who may not show up on the score sheet every night, play a big role. Quinn Hobbs and Shane Sherban, those kind of guys just stepped up,” added O’Brien.
“We’re starting to turn the right corner, we just need everybody else to believe and see that as well.”
With that said, the Terriers are now on the road for a few weeks.
On Thursday, they’ll face the Humboldt Broncos. The two teams faced off at showcase in September and the Broncos came away with a 2-1 win. The Terriers will look for redemption on Thursday.
After that game, the Terriers head to Battlefords for back-to-back games against the North Stars on Friday and Saturday.
“We’re really excited for this road trip coming up. We know it’s going to be tough,” offered O’Brien.
He said they’re hoping to keep their discipline in check.
“We’re trying to reduce our stick penalties – the slashing, the hooking, the tripping – and use our feet more,” said O’Brien.
“And we want to continue to get our goals against down. Both of our goalies give us the chance every night to win a game, but there are things that we need to clean up.”
The Terriers will return to home ice on Saturday, Nov. 11 when the Humboldt Broncos are in town. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
