In what was a shock to absolutely no one, the Yorkton Xerox Terriers made short work of their SBAAHL South Division quarterfinal opponents the Swift Current Kabos Raiders, ousting the Raiders from the 2016 playoffs in just two games with a pair of wins, taking Game One 7-3 and Game Two 8-0.
Game One
The Xerox Terriers officially opened the 2016 postseason defence of their back-to-back titles on Tuesday, February 23 at the Farrell Agencies Arena against the Swift Current Kabos Raiders.
Kishaun Gervais – younger brother of SJHL Yorkton Terrier captain Kailum Gervais – opened the scoring just 53 seconds into the game, snapping the puck past Raider net minder Brad Nyen for a 1-0 Yorkton lead, however Swift Current would respond not long after, as Matthew Christianson would take advantage of the open ice created by an Aiden Bulych interference penalty to deposit the puck behind Yorkton goaltender Nolan Maier to even the game at one less than five minutes into the opening frame.
The Raiders would take the lead later in the frame on a Ryland Hornung goal to make it 2-1, only to have the Xerox Terriers first tie the game - then take the lead and add to it later in the period - with goals from Zach McIntyre, Gervais and first year forward Ryder Korczak for a 4-2 Yorkton advantage through 20 minutes. “We didn’t panic there, even when they went ahead early,” said Xerox Terrier head coach Dan Cross following the game, adding that he expected Swift Current to push the play early on. “They came out hard and made a couple of good plays and there were a few scrambles around our net and they got the jump on us there a little bit, but our team is calm and we just kept our cool and came back and worked through it.
“We knew that we could come back from that so we didn’t panic at all. We’ve been behind before and we’ve done it, so with that experience there was no panic on our bench at all.”
The second period saw the Xerox Terriers pick up right where they left off from the first period as McIntyre potted his second of the night just 2:07 into the middle frame for a 5-2 Yorkton lead.
Gervais’ third of the game gave the Xerox Terriers a 6-2 lead with 14:29 left in the second period before Swift Current’s Aaron Toews got the game to within three with a penalty shot goal, however Gervais was back later in the frame with his fourth of the game to round out the scoring and give Yorkton back their four goal cushion.
From there the Xerox Terriers would simply buckle down defensively, giving Swift Current absolutely nothing for the remainder of the game in an eventual 7-3 Game One win.
Maier picked up the win for the Terriers turning aside 23-of-26 Swift Current shots while Nyen shouldered the loss making 32 saves in the Raider net.
Gervais led all Xerox Terrier players in scoring with a four goal night; something his coach said was a direct result of his hard work in the game. “He just had one of those games where everything was going in for him and it was well deserved because he was working hard and by far he was our hardest working player in that game,” said coach Cross. “He’s a slick little player and he’s got some good speed and he really had some hop in his step there in that first game and that’s what we needed.”
Shutout Saturday
The Xerox Terriers arrived in Swift Current early Saturday afternoon riding a wave of momentum from Tuesday’s 7-3 Game One and looking to end their South Division quarterfinal series with the Kabos Raiders as soon as possible.
Second year defenceman Carson Dereniwsky put the Xerox Terriers on the board 3:59 into the opening period with a blast from the point that eluded Nyen for a 1-0 Yorkton lead.
McIntyre made it 2-0 Yorkton not long after with his third goal of the playoffs before Massen Ziola’s first of the extra season increased the Xerox Terrier lead to three at 3-0.
Three more goals in the second period – one each by Ryder Korczak, Aiden Bulych and Colby Vranai – gave Yorkton a commanding 6-0 through 40 minutes of play.
Xerox Terrier captain Bulych rounded out the game’s offence in the third period with a pair of goals to complete both the hattrick and the Game Two as the Xerox Terriers completed the two game sweep of the Swift Current Kabos Raiders with a convincing 8-0 Game Two win.
Back up net minder Spencer Welke picked up his first SBAAHL playoff win with the shutout stopping all 15 shots he faced while Nyen was handed his second straight loss making 25 saves on 33 shots.
Following the completion of the SBAAHL South quarterfinal, Cross said that he was happy with the way his team prepared themselves for their first series, noting how they never took the Raiders easily despite knowing they were the better team. “I’m extremely pleased with the way the guys are preparing for the games,” offered Cross. “The guys come out and played hard each time and I thought that they played well in both games right through the third period even though they knew they were going to win and I think that’s going to continue all the way through because they’re a tight-knit group and they want to play for each other.”
Next up
The Xerox Terriers now advance to the SBAAHL South Division semi-finals where they’ll meet the upstart Regina Monarchs, who upset Weyburn in three games in the first round. Yorkton was 2-0 against the Monarchs in the regular season with a pair of wins, 6-3 and 3-2.
Game One is set for tomorrow (Thursday) at the Farrell Agencies Arena with puck drop scheduled for 8:00pm. Game Two will be Saturday in Regina with Game Three (if needed) Sunday at 6:15p.m. at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
