The Yorkton RawTec Maulers played three games in the past week in Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League action. They picked up two wins and a loss in interim head coach Kevin Rawlick’s first week in the position, after former coach Graham Garrett was released from the team.
Last Wednesday, the Maulers hosted the Tisdale Trojans at the Farrell Agencies Arena. The game, although well fought by the Maulers, ended with a final score of 4-1 for the Trojans.
The Trojans came out hard in the first period and racked up three goals. The Maulers’ one goal came from Ryder Pierson, with assists from Beau Stevenson and Kaedan Korczak, in the second period of play. The Trojans’ fourth and final goal was scored at the end of the second period.
The Maulers outshot the Trojans 33-19, but just weren’t connecting with the back of the net.
After the game, head coach Kevin Rawlick said he was impressed with his players regardless of the final score, especially considering the recent change in coaching.
“I was really, really proud of the boys’ effort today. Any time you go through a change like that you want to make sure that the effort is there,” he said.
“One of our strong points is our goaltending,” Rawlick added. “I have all the confidence in the world with (Jordan Schmuland) going forward. He really settled in after that first period and I thought he made some huge stops for us.”
Rawlick said, in terms of the coaching change, it’s never easy to have a change like that under those circumstances.
“Graham (Garrett) was someone I worked with for almost two years, and I learned a lot from him,” he said. “I was humbled by the board’s decision to ask me to step in.”
Rawlick said he spent his first week as coach working on some team building with his players, and trying to get them in the right mindset for the final stretch of the season.
Last Saturday and Sunday, the Maulers traveled to Battlefords to play the Stars, and came out on top of both games.
Saturday’s game ended with a final score of 3-1 for the Maulers. Goals were scored Kaedan Korczak from Derrick Budz, Kishuan Gervais from Max Gudnason and Ryder Pierson from Beau Stevenson. Nolan Maier recorded the win in net for the Maulers.
On Sunday, the final score of the game was, again, 3-1. Battlefords scored the first goal of the game in the first period, but the Maulers quickly came back to take the win.
Maulers’ goals were scored by Jordan Repsch from Kaedan Korczak and Carson Benning, Kaleb Bulych from Kaedan Korczak and Derrick Budz, and Derrick Budz with an unassisted goal.
Currently leading the Maulers in points is Derrick Budz, who has 33 points stemming from 11 goals and 22 assists.
Second to Budz is Kaedan Korczak with 25 points from 8 goals and 17 assists.
And rookie Trey Bear sits in third place with 22 points from 8 goals and 14 assists.
Rookie goalie Nolan Maier, who has played 22 games in net for the Maulers, currently had a .922 save percentage, with 11 wins and nine losses. Last year’s MVP, goalie Jordan Schmuland, has played 18 games and has a .880 save percentage, with five wins and 12 losses.
The Maulers’ head to Notre Dame on Thursday for their next game to face the Hounds, but return to the Farrell Agencies Arena in Yorkton on Wednesday, Feb. 15 to play the Notre Dame Argos. The puck will drop at 8:00 p.m.
